STEWART AND WINTERBURN IN WOMEN’S ALL-BRITISH TEAM OF THE YEAR

LEICESTER Riders GB internationals Azania Stewart and Holly Winterburn have been selected in the Molten WBBL All-British Team of the Year.

Stewart, a London 2012 Team GB Olympian, came out of retirement to represent Riders late in the season and received four votes to take the centre spot.

Leading the league with 1.9 blocks per game, she was the defensive lynchpin for Riders, which were the best defensive team in the WBBL.

Stewart, right, was also eighth in the league with 8.8 rebounds per outing, and got her work done efficiently at the offensive end too, averaging 11 points per game and leading the league in field goal percentage (61.1 per cent).

Stewart had five double-doubles, saving her season-highs for the biggest games with 17 points in one clash with London Lions and five blocks in another that secured Leicester’s second-place finish.

She also had 18 rebounds as Leicester became the only team to beat WBBL champions Sevenoaks Suns in the league.

Winterburn’s selection was unanimous among WBBL head coaches, and she features among the best British five for the second consecutive time, after a year out in-between at the University of

Oregon. Stepping up to captain the league’s second-placed team at just 20 years of age following the departure of Kate Oliver, Winterburn, right, lifted the WBBL Cup in February and had a near tripledouble in that game of 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

She finished the season third in the WBBL in assists per game (6.2), sixth in steals (2.1), ninth in defensive rebounds (6.1) and tenth in fouls drawn, while putting up 15 points per game and shooting 36 per cent from the three-point line.

Winterburn’s assists and rebound numbers are highs in her young career.

Joining the duo in the All-British Team of the Year are Kennedy Leonard of London Lions and former Riders players Georgia Jones of Manchester Met Mystics and Claire Paxton of Durham Palatinates.