# 2022–23 WNBL season

The 2022–23 WNBL season is the 43rd season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Melbourne Boomers were the defending champions, but were defeated in the Semi-Finals by Southside. The Townsville Fire won their fourth championship title after sweeping Southside, 2–0 in the Grand Final series.
Cygnett was named as the WNBL's naming rights partner for this season, after signing a three-year deal in September 2022. Spalding again provided equipment including the official game ball, alongside iAthletic supplying team apparel for the sixth consecutive season.
In June 2022, the season structure was confirmed to feature an 84-game regular season and best-of-three Semi-Final & Grand Final series' to follow. The WNBL later announced in September 2022 that a new broadcast deal had been signed with the 9Now and ESPN for the upcoming season.
The February 2023 match between the Southside Flyers and the Sydney Flames drew a crowd of 7,681, which is the largest ever WNBL crowd. In total for the season, 127,014 fans attended regular-season games (30% higher than 2019–20), and 16,996 attended the finals series (81% higher than 2019–20), for a total season attendance of 144,010.

## Standings

| # | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder | WNBL Championship ladder |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GP |
| 1 | Townsville Fire | 17 | 4 | 80.9 | 21 |
| 2 | Southside Flyers | 15 | 6 | 71.4 | 21 |
| 3 | Melbourne Boomers | 15 | 6 | 71.4 | 21 |
| 4 | Perth Lynx | 13 | 8 | 61.9 | 21 |
| 5 | Bendigo Spirit | 11 | 10 | 52.3 | 21 |
| 6 | Sydney Flames | 6 | 15 | 28.5 | 21 |
| 7 | Adelaide Lightning | 5 | 16 | 23.8 | 21 |
| 8 | Canberra Capitals | 2 | 19 | 5.8 | 21 |

## Finals

| Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Semi Finals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| 1 | Townsville Fire | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Perth Lynx | 0 | | | |
| 4 | Perth Lynx | 0 | 1 | Townsville Fire | 2 |
| | | | 2 | Southside Flyers | 0 |
| 3 | Melbourne Boomers | 1 | 2 | Southside Flyers | 0 |
| 2 | Southside Flyers | 2 | | | |

## Statistics
### Individual statistic leaders

| Category | Player | Statistic |
| Points per game | Tiffany Mitchell (MEL) | 20.2 PPG |
| Rebounds per game | Cayla George (MEL) | 11.3 RPG |
| Assists per game | Stephanie Reid (TSV) | 6.1 APG |
| Steals per game | Kelsey Griffin (BEN) | 2.6 SPG |
| Blocks per game | Olivia Nelson-Ododa (MEL) | 1.5 BPG |

### Individual game highs

| Category | Player | Statistic |
| Points | Sara Blicavs (STH) | 41 |
| Rebounds | Anneli Maley (BEN) | 24 |
| Assists | Stephanie Reid (TSV) Jade Melbourne (CBR) | 14 |
| Steals | Kelsey Griffin (BEN) | 6 |
| Blocks | Hannah Sjerven (SYD) | 5 |

## Awards
### Player of the Round

| Round # | Player |
| Round 1 | Lauren Nicholson (TSV) |
| Round 2 | Tiffany Mitchell (MEL) |
| Round 3 | Lauren Mansfield (ADL) |
| Round 4 | Anneli Maley (BEN) |
| Round 5 | Kelsey Griffin (BEN) |
| Round 6 | Stephanie Reid (TSV) |
| Round 7 | Cayla George (MEL) |
| Round 8 | Anneli Maley (BEN) (2) |
| Round 9 | Sara Blicavs (STH) |
| Round 10 | Sami Whitcomb (PER) |
| Round 11 | Lauren Jackson (STH) |
| Round 12 | Amy Atwell (PER) |
| Round 13 | Tiana Mangakahia (SYD) |
| Round 14 | Tianna Hawkins (TSV) |
| Round 15 | Keely Froling (SYD) |
| Round 16 | |

### Team of the Round

| Round # | Team | Team | Team | Team | Team |
| Round 1 | Stephanie Reid (TSV) | Lauren Nicholson (TSV) | Isobel Borlase (ADL) | Tiffany Mitchell (MEL) | Kelsey Griffin (BEN) |
| Round 2 | Kristy Wallace (MEL) | Tiffany Mitchell (MEL) (2) | Amy Atwell (PER) | Anneli Maley (BEN) | Tianna Hawkins (TSV) |
| Round 3 | Lauren Mansfield (ADL) | Lauren Nicholson (TSV) (2) | Penina Davidson (MEL) | Lauren Scherf (PER) | Cayla George (MEL) |
| Round 4 | Anneli Maley (BEN) (2) | Sara Blicavs (STH) | Kelsey Griffin (BEN) (2) | Jacinta Monroe (ADL) | Cayla George (MEL) (2) |
| Round 5 | Shyla Heal (SYD) | Karlie Samuelson (TSV) | Tiffany Mitchell (MEL) (3) | Keely Froling (SYD) | Kelsey Griffin (BEN) (3) |
| Round 6 | Stephanie Reid (TSV) (2) | Kristy Wallace (MEL) (2) | Kayla Thornton (STH) | Kelsey Griffin (BEN) (4) | Cayla George (MEL) (3) |
| Round 7 | Shyla Heal (SYD) (2) | Sami Whitcomb (PER) | Mia Murray (MEL) | Lauren Jackson (STH) | Cayla George (MEL) (4) |
| Round 8 | Shyla Heal (SYD) (3) | Tiffany Mitchell (MEL) (4) | Anneli Maley (BEN) (3) | Chloe Bibby (PER) | Keely Froling (SYD) (2) |
| Round 9 | Kristy Wallace (MEL) (3) | Isobel Borlase (ADL) (2) | Sara Blicavs (STH) (2) | Tianna Hawkins (TSV) (2) | Lauren Scherf (PER) |
| Round 10 | Sami Whitcomb (PER) (2) | Anneli Maley (BEN) (4) | Rae Burrell (CBR) | Mikaela Ruef (TSV) | Cayla George (MEL) (5) |
| Round 11 | Tiana Mangakahia (SYD) | Sami Whitcomb (PER) (3) | Karlie Samuelson (TSV) (2) | Alex Wilson (BEN) | Lauren Jackson (STH) (2) |
| Round 12 | Jade Melbourne (CBR) | Robbi Ryan (PER) | Amy Atwell (PER) (2) | Kayla Thornton (STH) (2) | Tianna Hawkins (TSV) (3) |
| Round 13 | Jade Melbourne (CBR) (2) | Tiana Mangakahia (SYD) (2) | Courtney Woods (TSV) | Tianna Hawkins (TSV) (4) | Cayla George (MEL) (6) |
| Round 14 | Jade Melbourne (CBR) (3) | Chloe Bibby (PER) (2) | Kayla Thornton (STH) (3) | Tianna Hawkins (TSV) (5) | Cayla George (MEL) (7) |
| Round 15 | Jade Melbourne (CBR) (4) | Tiana Mangakahia (SYD) (3) | Tiffany Mitchell (MEL) (5) | Kayla Thornton (STH) (4) | Keely Froling (SYD) (3) |
| Round 16 | | | | | |

### Postseason Awards

| Award | Winner | Position | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Cayla George | Forward/Center | Melbourne Boomers |
| Grand Final MVP | Tianna Hawkins | Forward | Townsville Fire |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Stephanie Talbot | Guard/Forward | Adelaide Lightning |
| Sixth Woman of the Year | Isobel Borlase | Guard | Adelaide Lightning |
| Breakout Player of the Year | Isobel Borlase | Guard | Adelaide Lightning |
| Coach of the Year | Shannon Seebohm | Coach | Townsville Fire |
| Leading Scorer Award | Tiffany Mitchell | Guard | Melbourne Boomers |
| Leading Rebounder Award | Cayla George | Forward/Center | Melbourne Boomers |
| Golden Hands Award | Stephanie Reid | Guard | Townsville Fire |
| Cygnett Community Award | Stephanie Reid | Guard | Townsville Fire |
| All-WNBL First Team | Kristy Wallace | Guard | Melbourne Boomers |
| All-WNBL First Team | Sami Whitcomb | Guard | Perth Lynx |
| All-WNBL First Team | Kayla Thornton | Forward | Southside Flyers |
| All-WNBL First Team | Tianna Hawkins | Forward | Townsville Fire |
| All-WNBL First Team | Cayla George | Forward/Center | Melbourne Boomers |
| All-WNBL Second Team | Jade Melbourne | Guard | Canberra Capitals |
| All-WNBL Second Team | Tiffany Mitchell | Guard | Melbourne Boomers |
| All-WNBL Second Team | Lauren Nicholson | Guard | Townsville Fire |
| All-WNBL Second Team | Stephanie Talbot | Guard/Forward | Adelaide Lightning |
| All-WNBL Second Team | Lauren Scherf | Center | Perth Lynx |

## Team captains and coaches

| Team | Captain | Coach |
| Adelaide Lightning | Stephanie Talbot | Natalie Hurst |
| Bendigo Spirit | Kelsey Griffin | Kennedy Kereama |
| Canberra Capitals | Brittany Smart | Kristen Veal |
| Melbourne Boomers | Cayla George | Chris Lucas |
| Perth Lynx | Sami Whitcomb | Ryan Petrik |
| Southside Flyers | Aimie Rocci | Cheryl Chambers |
| Sydney Uni Flames | Keely Froling | Shane Heal |
| Townsville Fire | Lauren Nicholson | Shannon Seebohm |