# 2016–17 WNBL season

The 2016–17 WNBL season is the 37th season of competition since its establishment in 1981. The regular season begins on October 7, 2016 when the Sydney Uni Flames host the Perth Lynx and is scheduled to conclude on February 19, 2017. Townsville Fire were the two-time defending champions, but they were defeated by the Sydney Uni Flames in the Semifinals. The Flames would go on to take home their fourth WNBL title, their first in sixteen years, after defeating the Dandenong Rangers in the final.

## Team standings

| # | WNBL Championship Ladder | WNBL Championship Ladder | WNBL Championship Ladder | WNBL Championship Ladder | WNBL Championship Ladder |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GP |
| 1 | Sydney Uni Flames | 18 | 6 | 75.00 | 24 |
| 2 | Dandenong Rangers | 15 | 9 | 62.50 | 24 |
| 3 | Perth Lynx | 15 | 9 | 62.50 | 24 |
| 4 | Townsville Fire | 14 | 10 | 58.33 | 24 |
| 5 | Canberra Capitals | 13 | 11 | 54.17 | 24 |
| 6 | Bendigo Spirit | 13 | 11 | 54.17 | 24 |
| 7 | Melbourne Boomers | 5 | 19 | 20.83 | 24 |
| 8 | Adelaide Lightning | 3 | 21 | 12.50 | 24 |

## Finals

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| 1 | Sydney Uni Flames | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Townsville Fire | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Townsville Fire | 0 | 1 | Sydney Uni Flames | 2 |
| | | | 2 | Dandenong Rangers | 0 |
| 3 | Perth Lynx | 1 | 2 | Dandenong Rangers | 0 |
| 2 | Dandenong Rangers | 2 | | | |

## Statistics
### Individual statistic leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | Sami Whitcomb | Perth Lynx | 23.6 PPG |
| Rebounds per game | Mikaela Ruef | Canberra Capitals | 11.0 RPG |
| Assists per game | Leilani Mitchell | Sydney Uni Flames | 6.2 APG |
| Steals per game | Sami Whitcomb | Perth Lynx | 2.8 SPG |
| Blocks per game | Jennifer Hamson | Sydney Uni Flames | 2.6 BPG |

### Individual game highs

| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Points | Sami Whitcomb | Perth Lynx | 41 |
| Rebounds | Mikaela Ruef | Canberra Capitals | 22 |
| Assists | Leilani Mitchell | Sydney Uni Flames | 11 |
| Steals | Samantha Logic | Adelaide Lightning | 7 |
| Blocks | Suzy Batkovic | Townsville Fire | 6 |

## Awards
### Player of the Week Award

| Round # | Player | Team |
| Round 1 | Suzy Batkovic | Townsville Fire |
| Round 2 | Marianna Tolo | Canberra Capitals |
| Round 3 | Sami Whitcomb | Perth Lynx |
| Round 4 | Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe | Bendigo Spirit |
| Round 5 | Lauren Mansfield | Canberra Capitals |
| Round 6 | Asia Taylor | Sydney Uni Flames |
| Round 7 | Kelsey Griffin | Bendigo Spirit |
| Round 8 | Marianna Tolo (2) | Canberra Capitals |
| Round 9 | Suzy Batkovic (2) | Townsville Fire |
| Round 10 | Stephanie Cumming | Dandenong Rangers |
| Round 11 | Kelsey Griffin (2) | Bendigo Spirit |
| Round 12 | Asia Taylor (2) | Sydney Uni Flames |
| Round 13 | Tayla Roberts | Adelaide Lightning |
| Round 14 | Ally Malott | Dandenong Rangers |
| Round 15 | Leilani Mitchell | Sydney Uni Flames |
| Round 16 | Belinda Snell | Sydney Uni Flames |
| Round 17 | Suzy Batkovic (3) | Townsville Fire |
| Round 18 | Kelly Wilson | Townsville Fire |
| Round 19 | Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (2) | Bendigo Spirit |

### Team of the Week Award

| Round # | Team | Team | Team | Team | Team |
| Round 1 | Natalie Novosel Rangers | Sami Whitcomb Lynx | Laura Hodges Lightning | Suzy Batkovic Fire | Jennifer Hamson Flames |
| Round 2 | Leilani Mitchell Flames | Sami Whitcomb (2) Lynx | Stephanie Cumming Rangers | Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe Spirit | Marianna Tolo Capitals |
| Round 3 | Leilani Mitchell (2) Flames | Sami Whitcomb (3) Lynx | Stephanie Cumming (2) Rangers | Alice Kunek Boomers | Asia Taylor Flames |
| Round 4 | Kerryn Harrington Spirit | Sami Whitcomb (4) Lynx | Sara Blicavs Rangers | Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (2) Spirit | Mikaela Ruef Capitals |
| Round 5 | Lauren Mansfield Capitals | Mia Murray Fire | Kelsey Griffin Spirit | Asia Taylor (2) Flames | Marianna Tolo (2) Capitals |
| Round 6 | Amy Kame Fire | Sami Whitcomb (5) Lynx | Stephanie Cumming (3) Rangers | Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (3) Spirit | Asia Taylor (3) Flames |
| Round 7 | Kate Gaze Capitals | Sami Whitcomb (6) Lynx | Kelsey Griffin (2) Spirit | Asia Taylor (4) Flames | Mikaela Ruef (2) Capitals |
| Round 8 | Leilani Mitchell (3) Flames | Sami Whitcomb (7) Lynx | Kayla Standish Fire | Lauren Scherf Rangers | Marianna Tolo (3) Capitals |
| Round 9 | Mia Murray (2) Fire | Sami Whitcomb (8) Lynx | Sara Blicavs (2) Rangers | Suzy Batkovic (2) Fire | Mikaela Ruef (3) Capitals |
| Round 10 | Stephanie Cumming (4) Rangers | Sara Blicavs (3) Rangers | Kelsey Griffin (3) Spirit | Suzy Batkovic (3) Fire | Jennifer Hamson (2) Flames |
| Round 11 | Brittany Smart Boomers | Sami Whitcomb (9) Lynx | Kelsey Griffin (4) Spirit | Suzy Batkovic (4) Fire | Asia Taylor (5) Flames |
| Round 12 | Leilani Mitchell (4) Flames | Sami Whitcomb (10) Lynx | Brittany Smart (2) Boomers | Suzy Batkovic (5) Fire | Asia Taylor (6) Flames |
| Round 13 | Amy Kame (2) Fire | Sami Whitcomb (11) Lynx | Colleen Planeta Lightning | Tayla Roberts Lightning | Ruth Hamblin Lynx |
| Round 14 | Leilani Mitchell (5) Flames | Samantha Logic Lightning | Ally Malott Rangers | Suzy Batkovic (6) Fire | Marianna Tolo (4) Capitals |
| Round 15 | Leilani Mitchell (6) Flames | Sara Blicavs (4) Rangers | Asia Taylor (7) Flames | Suzy Batkovic (7) Fire | Marianna Tolo (5) Capitals |
| Round 16 | Belinda Snell Flames | Sami Whitcomb (12) Lynx | Laura Hodges (2) Lightning | Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (4) Spirit | Marianna Tolo (6) Capitals |
| Round 17 | Mia Murray (3) Fire | Sami Whitcomb (13) Lynx | Asia Taylor (8) Flames | Suzy Batkovic (8) Fire | Marianna Tolo (7) Capitals |
| Round 18 | Belinda Snell (2) Flames | Kelly Wilson Fire | Alex Ciabattoni Lightning | Abigail Wehrung Capitals | Carley Mijović Lynx |
| Round 19 | Natalie Novosel (2) Rangers | Colleen Planeta (2) Lightning | Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe (5) Spirit | Suzy Batkovic (9) Fire | Marianna Tolo (8) Capitals |

### Player & Coach of the Month Awards

| For games played | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Coach of the Month | Coach of the Month |
| For games played | Player | Team | Coach | Team |
| October 2016 | Sami Whitcomb | Perth Lynx | Simon Pritchard | Bendigo Spirit |
| November 2016 | Marianna Tolo | Canberra Capitals | Cheryl Chambers | Sydney Uni Flames |
| December 2016 | Suzy Batkovic | Townsville Fire | Larissa Anderson | Dandenong Rangers |
| January 2017 | Leilani Mitchell | Sydney Uni Flames | Cheryl Chambers (2) | Sydney Uni Flames |

### Postseason Awards

| Award | Winner | Position | Team |
| Most Valuable Player Award | Suzy Batkovic | Center | Townsville Fire |
| Grand Final MVP Award | Leilani Mitchell | Guard | Sydney Uni Flames |
| Rookie of the Year Award | Monique Conti | Guard | Melbourne Boomers |
| Defensive Player of the Year Award | Marianna Tolo | Center | Canberra Capitals |
| Top Shooter Award | Sami Whitcomb | Guard | Perth Lynx |
| Coach of the Year Award | Cheryl Chambers | Coach | Sydney Uni Flames |
| All-Star Five | Leilani Mitchell | Guard | Sydney Uni Flames |
| All-Star Five | Sami Whitcomb | Guard | Perth Lynx |
| All-Star Five | Asia Taylor | Forward | Sydney Uni Flames |
| All-Star Five | Suzy Batkovic | Center | Townsville Fire |
| All-Star Five | Marianna Tolo | Center | Canberra Capitals |

## Team Captains & Coaches

| Team | Captain | Coach |
| Adelaide Lightning | Laura Hodges | Chris Lucas |
| Bendigo Spirit | Kelsey Griffin | Simon Pritchard |
| Canberra Capitals | Marianna Tolo / Carly Wilson (co) | Paul Goriss |
| Dandenong Rangers | Aimie Clydesdale / Stephanie Cumming (co) | Larissa Anderson |
| Melbourne Boomers | Alice Kunek | Guy Molloy |
| Perth Lynx | Tessa Lavey | Andy Stewart |
| Sydney Uni Flames | Belinda Snell | Cheryl Chambers |
| Townsville Fire | Suzy Batkovic | Claudia Brassard |