# 2020 WNBL season

The 2020 WNBL season was the 41st season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Canberra Capitals were the two-time defending champions, but were defeated in the semi-finals by Melbourne. The Southside Flyers won the Grand Final, defeating the Townsville Fire, 99–82. The Flyers took home the franchise's fourth WNBL title overall, this being their first since rebranding as Southside.
Chemist Warehouse was again the WNBL's naming rights partner for this season, after signing a three-year deal in July 2018. Spalding again provided equipment including the official game ball, alongside iAthletic supplying team apparel for the fourth consecutive season.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a North Queensland hub was set to host the season. The season was originally 2020–21 and would be traditionally played over several months across the summer, however this season's scheduling had been condensed. The six-week season saw Townsville, Cairns and Mackay host a 52-game regular season fixture, plus a four-game final series (2 x semi-finals, preliminary final and grand final). Each team contested 13 games starting on 11 November, with the grand final scheduled for 20 December.

## Standings

| # | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GP |
| 1 | Southside Flyers | 11 | 2 | 84.6 | 13 |
| 2 | Townsville Fire | 9 | 4 | 69.2 | 13 |
| 3 | Canberra Capitals | 9 | 4 | 69.2 | 13 |
| 4 | Melbourne Boomers | 9 | 4 | 69.2 | 13 |
| 5 | Sydney Uni Flames | 5 | 8 | 38.5 | 13 |
| 6 | Adelaide Lightning | 5 | 8 | 38.5 | 13 |
| 7 | Perth Lynx | 4 | 9 | 30.8 | 13 |
| 8 | Bendigo Spirit | 0 | 13 | 0.0 | 13 |

## Finals

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| Southside Flyers | Southside Flyers | 106 | | | | Southside Flyers | Southside Flyers | 99 |
| Townsville Fire | Townsville Fire | 93 | | | | Townsville Fire | Townsville Fire | 82 |
| | | | Townsville Fire | Townsville Fire | 65 | | | |
| | | | Melbourne Boomers | Melbourne Boomers | 62 | | | |
| Canberra Capitals | Canberra Capitals | 68 | | | | | | |
| Melbourne Boomers | Melbourne Boomers | 78 | | | | | | |

## Statistics
### Individual statistic leaders

| Category | Player | Statistic |
| Points per game | Liz Cambage (STH) | 23.6 PPG |
| Rebounds per game | Anneli Maley (SYD) | 12.1 RPG |
| Assists per game | Leilani Mitchell (STH) | 6.5 APG |
| Steals per game | Alison Schwagmeyer (SYD) | 2.2 SPG |
| Blocks per game | Liz Cambage (STH) | 1.9 BPG |

### Individual game highs

| Category | Player | Statistic |
| Points | Liz Cambage (STH) | 35 |
| Rebounds | Anneli Maley (SYD) | 20 |
| Assists | Tessa Lavey (BEN) | 11 |
| Assists | Leilani Mitchell (STH) | 11 |
| Steals | Stephanie Talbot (ADL) | 7 |
| Blocks | Liz Cambage (STH) | 6 |

## Awards
### Player of the Round

| Round # | Player |
| Round 1 | Stephanie Talbot (ADL) |
| Round 2 | Liz Cambage (STH) |
| Round 3 | Shyla Heal (TSV) |
| Round 4 | Darcee Garbin (PER) |
| Round 5 | Lauren Mansfield (SYD) |

### Team of the Round

| Round # | Team | Team | Team | Team | Team |
| Round 1 | Maddison Rocci (CBR) | Tess Madgen (MEL) | Stephanie Talbot (ADL) | Cayla George (MEL) | Liz Cambage (STH) |
| Round 2 | Jade Melbourne (CBR) | Shyla Heal (TSV) | Lauren Nicholson (TSV) | Lauren Scherf (SYD) | Liz Cambage (STH) (2) |
| Round 3 | Shyla Heal (TSV) (2) | Stephanie Talbot (ADL) (2) | Anneli Maley (SYD) | Darcee Garbin (PER) | Liz Cambage (STH) (3) |
| Round 4 | Katie Ebzery (PER) | Lauren Nicholson (TSV) (2) | Darcee Garbin (PER) (2) | Ezi Magbegor (MEL) | Liz Cambage (STH) (4) |
| Round 5 | Lauren Mansfield (SYD) | Rebecca Cole (STH) | Anneli Maley (SYD) (2) | Cayla George (MEL) (2) | Zitina Aokuso (TSV) |

### Postseason Awards

| Award | Winner | Position | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Stephanie Talbot | Guard/Forward | Adelaide Lightning |
| Grand Final MVP | Leilani Mitchell | Guard | Southside Flyers |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Stephanie Talbot | Guard/Forward | Adelaide Lightning |
| Sixth Woman of the Year | Zitina Aokuso | Forward/Center | Townsville Fire |
| Youth Player of the Year | Shyla Heal | Guard | Townsville Fire |
| Coach of the Year | Shannon Seebohm | Coach | Townsville Fire |
| Leading Scorer Award | Liz Cambage | Center | Southside Flyers |
| Leading Rebounder Award | Anneli Maley | Forward | Sydney Uni Flames |
| Golden Hands Award | Leilani Mitchell | Guard | Southside Flyers |
| All-WNBL First Team | Katie Ebzery | Guard | Perth Lynx |
| All-WNBL First Team | Lauren Nicholson | Guard | Townsville Fire |
| All-WNBL First Team | Stephanie Talbot | Guard/Forward | Adelaide Lightning |
| All-WNBL First Team | Cayla George | Forward/Center | Melbourne Boomers |
| All-WNBL First Team | Liz Cambage | Center | Southside Flyers |
| All-WNBL Second Team | Shyla Heal | Guard | Townsville Fire |
| All-WNBL Second Team | Maddison Rocci | Guard/ | Canberra Capitals |
| All-WNBL Second Team | Tess Madgen | Guard | Melbourne Boomers |
| All-WNBL Second Team | Sara Blicavs | Forward | Southside Flyers |
| All-WNBL Second Team | Ezi Magbegor | Forward/Center | Melbourne Boomers |

## Team captains and coaches

| Team | Captain | Coach |
| Adelaide Lightning | Stephanie Talbot | Chris Lucas |
| Bendigo Spirit | Tessa Lavey | Tracy York |
| Canberra Capitals | Kelsey Griffin / Marianna Tolo (co) | Paul Goriss |
| Melbourne Boomers | Madeleine Garrick / Cayla George (co) | Guy Molloy |
| Perth Lynx | Katie Ebzery | Ryan Petrik |
| Southside Flyers | Jenna O'Hea | Cheryl Chambers |
| Sydney Uni Flames | Lauren Mansfield / Alison Schwagmeyer (co) | Katrina Hibbert |
| Townsville Fire | Gaze, Murray, Nicholson, Payne (group) | Shannon Seebohm |