ROUND 3 WNWBL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Earning her second Player of the Week award for the 2019 season, Amber Merritt has continued her stellar year for the Perth Wheelcats.

Led to another round sweep by Merritt, the Wheelcats now own an 11-0 record overall, with the Australian Glider averaging an incredible 43.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and six assists across their four games.

She began with a monster double-double on Friday night against the Sydney Uni Flames, recording 34 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in a comfortable win.

Things got off to a slow start but Merritt kicked Perth into gear with eight points and five rebounds in the second quarter before scoring 14 of Perth’s 20 points in the final term.

The following day, the Wheelcats got by the Sydney Metro Blues in their closest game of the weekend, succeeding 60-53 despite Sydney Metro scoring the last seven points of the contest.

Merritt was held to her lowest scoring output of the round but still had 29 points including a three-pointer, 13 boards and five assists.

Her three steals also led to six Perth points as they outscored the Blues 19-6 in points off turnovers as a team.

Already building a strong stat-line, Merritt went off in the Wheelcats’ final two games for the weekend as they took care of the Queensland Comets and Kilsyth Cobras.

Against the Comets, she tallied a season-high for any player with 59 points on an astounding 28-35 (80%) shooting from the field.

Merritt made a living in the paint, knocking down only six shots from outside the key and she capped off an efficient outing with 13 rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block.

Scoring nine of Perth’s first 11 points for the game, Merritt set the tone early and she had 31 points by half-time after scoring 16 in the second quarter.

While not quite equalling that tally on Sunday, Merritt instead notched her second straight 50-point game with a triple-double against Kilsyth.

She had 52 points on 26-35 (75%) shooting with 14 rebounds, 11 assists and three steals while playing all 40 minutes for the fourth straight game.

Again setting the tone, Merritt recorded 16 points by quarter-time and could not be stopped, hitting the 50-point mark with five minutes still left on the clock.

Round 3 Amber Merritt Stats: 43.5 points on 83-121 (69%) shooting, 13.5 rebounds (2.5 offensive),  six assists and 2.8 steals per game.