Australia women's national basketball team

For the precious stone, see opal.
Australia
FIBA ranking 2nd[1]
FIBA zone FIBA Oceania
National federation Basketball Australia
Coach Carrie Graf
Nickname(s) Opals
Olympic Games
Appearances 6
Medals Silver: 2000, 2004, 2008,
Bronze: 1996
World Championships for Women
Appearances 12
Medals Gold: 2006
Bronze: 1998, 2002
Oceania Championship for Women
Appearances 11
Medals Gold: 1974, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1989, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007
Uniforms
Light
Dark

The Australia Women's National Basketball Team (nicknamed The Opals) is the women's National Basketball team for Australia. They won Gold at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006 defeating New Zealand's Tall Ferns in the final match with a score of 77–39. They then followed it up with a gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, beating Russia 91–74. The Opals became the first non-American team since Brazil in 1994 to become world champions with their victory over the Russians.[2]

The team's captain and star player is centre Lauren Jackson, a perennial WNBA All-Star team member.

Contents

Olympic history

Women's basketball was introduced as an Olympic sport at Montreal in 1976.[3]

Year Games Result
1976 Montreal Did not qualify
1980 Moscow Did not qualify[4]
1984 Los Angeles 5th
1988 Seoul 4th
1992 Barcelona Did not qualify
1996 Atlanta  Bronze
2000 Sydney  Silver
2004 Athens  Silver
2008 Beijing  Silver
2012 London

Past Olympics squads

1984 Los Angeles Roster

Jenny Cheesman (Capt), Robyn Maher, Bronwyn Marshall, Patricia Cockrem, Donna Quinn, Patricia Mickan, Julie Nykiel, Kathy Foster, Marina Moffa, Karen Dalton, Wendy Laidlaw, Sue Geh, Brendan Flynn (Head Coach), Kay McFarlane (Assistant Coach), Lorraine Landon (Manager), Eddie Crouch (Referee).

1988 Seoul Roster

Jenny Cheesman (Capt), Robyn Maher, Sandy Brondello, Michele Timms, Donna Brown, Patricia Mickan, Julie Nykiel, Debbie Slimmon, Marina Moffa, Karen Dalton, Shelley Gorman, Maree White, Robbie Cadee (Head Coach), Ray Tomlinson (Assistant Coach), Michael Pattison (Assistant Coach), Lorraine Landon (Manager), Geoff Weeks (Referee.

1996 Atlanta Roster

Robyn Maher (Capt), Allison Cook, Sandy Brondello, Michele Timms, Shelley Sandie, Trish Fallon, Michelle Chandler, Fiona Robinson, Carla Boyd, Jenny Whittle, Rachael Sporn, Michelle Brogan, Tom Maher (Head Coach), Jenny Cheesman (Assistant Coach), Carrie Graf (Assistant Coach), Marian Stewart (Manager), Robbie Barnett (Referee), Michael Butler (Referee).

2000 Sydney Roster

Michele Timms (Capt), Rachael Sporn (VC), Carla Boyd, Sandy Brondello, Trish Fallon, Michelle Griffiths, Kristi Harrower, Jo Hill, Lauren Jackson, Annie La Fleur, Shelley Sandie, Jenny Whittle, Tom Maher (Head Coach), Jenny Cheesman (AC), Carrie Graf (AC), Marian Stewart (Manager), Carolyn Broderick (Dr), Jill Cook (Physio), Carolyn Gillespie (Referee).

2004 Athens Roster

Trisha Fallon (Capt), Suzy Batkovic, Sandy Brondello, Kristi Harrower, Lauren Jackson, Natalie Porter, Alicia Poto, Belinda Snell, Rachel Sporn, Laura Summerton, Penny Taylor, Allison Tranquilli, Jan Stirling (Head Coach), Karen Dalton (Ass. Coach), Chris Lucas (Technical Ass.), Marian Stewart (Manager), Dr Scott Burne (Doctor), Annette Tonkin (Physiotherapist).

Current roster

This was the roster for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.[5]

Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Age - DOB Ht. Club Club nat.
G 4 Phillips, Erin &1000000000000002300000023 - July 19, 1985(1985-07-19) 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Indiana Fever
G 5 Bevilaqua, Tully &1000000000000003600000036 - May 19, 1972(1972-05-19) 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) San Antonio Silver Stars
G 6 Screen, Jennifer &1000000000000002600000026 - February 19, 1982(1982-02-19) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Adelaide Lightning
F 7 Taylor, Penny &1000000000000002700000027 - May 24, 1981(1981-05-24) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Phoenix Mercury
F/C 8 Batkovic, Suzy &1000000000000002700000027 - May 24, 1981(1981-05-24) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Adelaide Lightning
C 9 Grima, Hollie &1000000000000002400000024 - December 16, 1983(1983-12-16) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Frisco Sika Brno
PG 10 Harrower, Kristi &1000000000000003300000033 - March 4, 1975(1975-03-04) 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) Bendigo Spirit
F 11 Summerton, Laura &1000000000000002400000024 - December 13, 1983(1983-12-13) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Levoni Taranto
F 12 Snell, Belinda &1000000000000002700000027 - January 10, 1981(1981-01-10) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sydney Uni Flames
C 13 Randall, Emma &1000000000000002300000023 - May 6, 1985(1985-05-06) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Logan Thunder
C 14 Cambage, Liz &1000000000000001600000016 - August 18, 1991(1991-08-18) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Tulsa Shock
PF 15 Jackson, Lauren (C) &1000000000000002700000027 - May 11, 1981(1981-05-11) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Seattle Storm
Head coach
  • Carrie Graf
Assistant coach(es)
  • Phil Brown, Michele Timms, Peter Buckle
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • nat field describes country
    of last club
    before the tournament
  • Age field is age on 9 August 2008

See also

References

  1. ^ FIBA (2008). FIBA World ranking for women. Retrieved on 26 August 2008.
  2. ^ James Dampney (25 September 2006). "US No Longer Invincible". Fox Sports. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,20471771-23769,00.html. 
  3. ^ CBC Sports (2008). Olympic Games Basketball History: Women's hoop dreams. Retrieved on 25 August 2008.
  4. ^ Australian Opals (2008). Opals Olympic History: 1980 Moscow. Retrieved on 25 August 2008.
  5. ^ Basketball Australia (2008). Australian Defence Force Opals (2008 National Team). Retrieved on 25 August 2008.

External links

Teams
Argentina | Australia | Belarus | Brazil | Canada | China | Czech Republic | France | Greece | Japan | Korea | Mali | Russia | Senegal | Spain | USA
Continental Championships
Qualifying
International women's basketball
Africa
Americas
Asia
Europe
Oceania
Note: The Under-21 Championship is no longer held.
National sports teams of Australia
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