Anneli Maley has capped off her strong debut season with the Bendigo Spirit by taking out the club's most valuable player award.
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The 23-year-old forward led the team in points (316/19.8pg) and rebounds (251/15.7pg) during the 2021-22 season and is also considered to be a top chance to take out the league MVP award.
Spirit head coach Tracy York praised Maley for an impressive season both on and off the court.
"Anneli is an outstanding individual," York said.
"She's a bright light that's always happy and works just as hard.
"She always gives her best effort and trains exactly the same way she plays."
Maley also leads the league in rebounds, points and minutes played.
"To do what she's been able to achieve this season is huge which obviously led to her being invited to the WNBA training camp in Chicago," York said.
"I am so proud of her and thrilled we were able to give her the platform to play and to simply just be herself."
York hoped that Maley would be able to add 2022 WNBL MVP to her resume - which is set to be announced in early April.
"Arguably she's been a huge target on other teams' scouts...in my mind she has to be a front runner for the MVP as not many other players this season were able to do what she did week-in week-out," she said.
"Win, loss or draw she continued to lock in double-doubles and maintained her consistency."
Veteran guard and double Spirit champion (2013, 2014) Maddie Garrick received the club's Coaches Award for her never-say-die effort at both ends of the court.
York praised Garrick for her contributions to the team.
"Maddie came back to Bendigo this year with extensive experience in the WNBL which showed as she was always reliable at training and game day - in addition to being an excellent mentor for the younger players on the team," York said.
"When you have players of this calibre on your team they become great support for coaches.
"Overall, she just gets the game and understands every element of it.
"She's done so well this year across several aspects of the game."
The final accolade of the season - the Spirit award - was given to guard Cassidy McLean.
In what was the 23-year-old's third season with the Spirit, York said McLean personified the nature of the award.
"At times you have to look at the efforts that don't always get seen," York said.
"Cassidy always used training as an opportunity to show her strengths and would always have the right mindset - to train how she wants to play.
"Her minutes fluctuated throughout the season but when she stepped onto the floor she was incredible defensively and did whatever she needed to get done."
Spirit fell just shy of a spot in the finals series, but capped off the season on a high-note with a 12-point triumph over Sydney Flames to finish fifth on the ladder.
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