| No. 2–Waverley Falcons | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard |
| League | NBL1 South |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 19 March 1992 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Caulfield Grammar School |
| Playing career | 2009–present |
| Career history | |
| 2009–2012 | Australian Institute of Sport |
| 2012–2018 | Bulleen/Melbourne Boomers |
| 2015–2016 | Nunawading Spectres |
| 2017 | Eltham Wildcats |
| 2018 | Melbourne Tigers |
| 2018–2024 | Dandenong Rangers / Southside Flyers |
| 2019 | Dandenong Rangers (NBL1) |
| 2021 | Bulleen Boomers (Big V) |
| 2022–present | Waverley Falcons |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Rebecca Joy Cole (born 19 March 1992) [1] is an Australian professional basketball player for the Waverley Falcons of the NBL1 South. She is a two-time champion with the Southside Flyers of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and has been a member of the Australian Opals.
Cole was born in Melbourne, Victoria, in the suburb of Mount Waverley. [2]
Cole made her debut in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in the 2009–10 season at 16 years old. [3] After three seasons with the AIS, she joined the Bulleen Boomers. She played for the Bulleen/Melbourne Boomers every year between 2012 and 2018. [4] She was a member of the Boomers' grand final team in 2017–18. [5]
For the 2018–19 season, Cole joined the Dandenong Rangers. [4] She was named to the 2018–19 WNBL All-Star Five and was named the Rangers Club MVP. [3] [6] [7] For the 2019–20 season, the Rangers rebranded as the Southside Flyers. Cole continued with the Flyers in 2019–20 and the 2020 WNBL Hub season in Queensland, [8] helping the team win the Hub championship. They finished runners-up in 2022–23 [9] and won the WNBL championship in 2023–24. [10]
In 2015 and 2016, Cole played for the Nunawading Spectres in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). She played for the Eltham Wildcats in the Big V in 2017 and the Melbourne Tigers in the SEABL in 2018. [4]
In 2019, Cole joined the Dandenong Rangers for the inaugural NBL1 season. [4] In 2021, she played for the Bulleen Boomers in the Big V. She joined the Waverley Falcons of the NBL1 South in 2022 [4] and in 2024 helped the team win the NBL1 South championship. [11] [12] She went on to lead the Falcons to the NBL1 National championship at the 2024 NBL1 National Finals while earning MVP of the championship game. [13] [14] [15] She was also named to the NBL1 National Finals All-Star Five. [16]
Cole made her international debut with the Under-19 program in 2011. Cole was chosen as captain for the Australian Gems (Australia's Under 19 Women's Team) at the FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Chile, where Australia narrowly missed out on bronze, placing fourth. Cole played all eight games. [3]
In January 2019 it was announced that Cole was part of the 2019 Opals squad. [17] [18] [19] FIBA named Cole one of the "10 Women Who Defined 3x3 in 2019". [20]
Cole was a member of both the 2018 and 2019 Australian teams in the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup. [21] In 2018, Australia won bronze and in 2019 Australia went undefeated winning the gold medal, with Cole being named the MVP of the 2019 tournament. [22]
Cole is the daughter of Gary and Ros Cole and has two older sisters, Jessica and Emma. [23]
As of 2022 [update] , Cole is the Ambassador for Lymphoma Australia. [24]
