Kalani Purcell

Kalani Purcell

Personal information
Born	(1995-01-13) 13 January 1995 (age 30) Auckland, New Zealand
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Career information
High school	John Paul College (Brisbane, Queensland)
College	Hutchinson CC (2013–2015) BYU (2015–2017)
WNBA draft	2017: undrafted
Playing career	2012–present
Position	Forward
Career history
2012	South West Metro Pirates
2013	Waikato Wizards
2014	Auckland Lady Hawks
2017	Brisbane Spartans
2017–2020	Melbourne Boomers
2018	South West Metro Pirates
2019	Auckland Dream
2020–2022	Southern Districts Spartans
2021–2022	Sydney Uni Flames
2023	Tokomanawa Queens
2024	Southern Districts Spartans
Career highlights and awards
WBC champion (2019) 2× WCC First Team (2016, 2017) WCC Defensive Player of the Year (2017) WCC Newcomer of the Year (2016)
Medals Representing   New Zealand Women's Basketball Commonwealth Games 2018 Gold Coast Team competition FIBA Oceania Championship 2013 Australia / New Zealand Team 2015 Australia / New Zealand Team

Kalani Purcell (born 13 January 1995) is a New Zealand professional basketball player.

Early life

Purcell was born in Auckland, New Zealand. ^[1] She later moved to Australia, where she attended John Paul College in Brisbane, Queensland. ^[1]

College career

Purcell began her college career at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas for the Blue Dragons. ^[2] After two seasons with Hutchinson, Purcell became the most decorated player in Blue Dragons history, earning her a transfer to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah for the Cougars. ^[3] During her time at BYU, Purcell received several awards in the West Coast Conference of NCAA Division I.

Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2013–14	Hutchinson	36	5	26.3	.522	.421	.593	10.3	3.7	3.6	1.4	3.2	13.7
2014–15	Hutchinson	34	34	31.0	.561	.174	.733	11.9	5.1	3.5	1.2	3.0	18.1
2015–16	Brigham Young	33	33	35.6	.451	.237	.678	12.6	4.7	2.0	0.7	4.3	12.0
2016–17	Brigham Young	32	32	36.8	.469	.286	.622	10.5	4.9	2.2	1.3	4.9	12.7
Career		135	104	32.2	.504	.270	.658	11.3	4.5	2.8	1.1	3.8	14.1

Professional career

WNBL

Purcell joined the Melbourne Boomers of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) for the 2017–18 season. ^[4] She continued with the Boomers in 2018–19, 2019–20, ^[5] and the 2020 WNBL Hub season. ^[6] She joined the Sydney Uni Flames for the 2021–22 WNBL season. ^[6]

National team

Youth level

Purcell made her international debut for the New Zealand under-17 team at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship in Brisbane, Queensland, at just the age of 14. ^[7]

Senior level

Purcell made her senior international debut with the Tall Ferns at the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship. She went on to play for the Tall Ferns at the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Nantes, France. Her last appearance for the Tall Ferns was at the 2021 FIBA Women's Asia Cup. ^[8]

Purcell played for the New Zealand women's national 3x3 team at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. ^[9]

Personal life

Purcell is the youngest of seven children to Ingrid and Brian Purcell. Two of her older sisters, Charmian and Natalie, have also represented the Tall Ferns and are both Olympians. ^[10]

Purcell and her partner, NBL player Tyrell Harrison, had their first child in 2023. ^{[11] [12]}

References

1. "Kalani Purcell - Women's Basketball 2016-2017". BYU Athletics - Official Athletics Website - BYU Cougars. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
2. "Kalani Purcell #32 F Hutchinson Community College – Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference". kjccc.org.
3. "BYU women's basketball: Purcell has found success, happiness and love in Provo". sltrib.com.
4. "Deakin Melbourne Boomers Land Key Tall Ferns Forward". wnbl.com.au.^{[ dead link ‍]}
5. "KALANI PURCELL". instagram.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
6. "Kalani Purcell, Basketball Player, News, Stats - australiabasket" . Eurobasket LLC. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
7. "Kalani Purcell's profile - 2009 FIBA Oceania U16 Championship for Women - ARCHIVE.FIBA.COM". archive.fiba.com.
8. "Kalani Purcell (New Zealand) - Basketball Stats, Height, Age | FIBA Basketball". www.fiba.basketball. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
9. "Kalani Purcell | New Zealand Olympic Team". olympic.org.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
10. "New Tall Fern following in sisters' footsteps". stuff.co.nz.
11. Hinton, Marc (20 April 2023). "Tyrell Harrison standing tall for Franklin Bulls through impressive start to NBL". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
12. Tailor, Leena (18 May 2023). "Basketball stars Tyrell and Kelani's baby joy". nowtolove.co.nz. Retrieved 31 May 2023.