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Born | [1] Melbourne, Victoria | 20 April 1966 ||||||||
Medal record
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Samantha Thornton (born 20 April 1966) is a former Australian women's basketball player. [1]
Thornton was a member of the national team roster for several years, from 1989 to 1995 competing at two World Championships; 1990 held in Malaysia and 1994 held in Australia. [2] The Opals not qualifying for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona probably cost Thornton her only chance to compete at an Olympic Games.
In the domestic Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), Thornton played 230 games for Bulleen Boomers (1984–87), Melbourne East (1988-91) and Dandenong Rangers (1992–96). [3] [4] In 1989, Thornton won the Maher Medal for the Australian International Player of the Year. [5] Thornton was also twice named to the WNBL All Star Five, in seasons 1991 and 1993. [6] In 1993, Thornton won the WNBL Top Shooter award with 359 points at an average of 18.9 per game. [7]
Suzy Batkovic is an Australian professional basketball player and politician. Suzy played her junior basketball with the Port Hunter Basketball Club in Newcastle. She has played basketball for several European clubs including the French Valenciennes, the Spanish side Ros Casares, the Russian side UMMC Ekaterinburg, and Italian side Cras Basket. In the United States, she has played for the Seattle Storm after having been selected as a first round draft pick in 2003. She has played professional basketball domestically for the Australian Institute of Sport in 1996–1999, the Sydney Uni Flames from 1999–2001, and 2009–2010, the Townsville Fire in 2001–2002, the Canberra Capitals in 2010–2011, and the Adelaide Lightning in 2011–2013; she returned to the Fire for the 2013–14 season. She has been a member of the Australia women's national basketball team, being named to the team for the first time in 1999. She won a silver medal with the team at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Sandra Anne Brondello is an Australian women's basketball coach, and the current head coach of the New York Liberty of the WNBA, as well as the Australian Women's national team. Brondello played in Australia, Germany and the WNBA before retiring to become a coach. The 5’7” Brondello is one of Australia's all-time best shooting guards. She played on Australia's "Opals" national team at four Summer Olympics, has coached the team at two more, and won three medals as a player and one bronze medal as a coach. She attended the Australian Institute of Sport in 1986–1987, and was inducted to the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Trisha Nicole Dykstra is an Australian former basketball player in the Australian Women's National Basketball League and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) of the United States. She also played with the Australian national team during the three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996, including as captain at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Fallon started her career at age sixteen.
Robyn Maher is an Australian former basketball player. A three-time Olympian, she was a member of the national women's team that won the bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In the Women's National Basketball League, she played for the Nunawading Spectres, Hobart Islanders, Perth Breakers and Sydney Uni Flames.
Jennifer Hazel (Jenny) Whittle is a retired Australian women's basketball player. Whittle was a regular member of the national team for over a decade, from 1994 until 2006. Playing Centre, Whittle was a key contributor to the Opals' success at international events during the 1990s and 2000s, with strong rebounding and defence a feature of her game. Following an outstanding national and WNBL career, Whittle was elected to the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Hollie Florance is an Australian women's basketball player. She is 190 cm tall, weighs 84 kg and plays in the Centre position. She attended the Australian Institute of Sport in 2000 to 2002. She was named the WNBL MVP during the 2006–07 season playing for the Bulleen Boomers. During the 2007/08 season she played offshore in the Italian Serie A League suiting up for Italmoka Pozzuoli. She has represented her country on numerous occasions, debuting at the 2002 World Championships in China where the Australian team won bronze. She has also won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics after missing out on selection during the 2004 Olympics. She was also part of the Australian team that won the gold medal at the world championships in 2006 and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Hollie is of Maltese heritage.
Lauren Elizabeth Jackson is an Australian former professional basketball player. Arguably the most notable Australian women's basketball player, Jackson has had a decorated career with the Australia women's national basketball team and has had multiple stints in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) between 1997 and 2024. Between 2001 and 2012, she played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Joanne Kay Hill is a former Australian women's basketball player.
Julie Dawn Nykiel is a former Australian women's basketball player.
Karin Maar-Fields-McRobert is a former Australian women's basketball player. McRobert represented the Australian women's national basketball team from 1975 to 1985.
Kathryn Joy Foster is an Australian former basketball player.
Deborah Lee "Debbie" Slimmon is a retired Australian women's basketball player.
Jae Kingi-Cross is a former Australian women's basketball player.
Emily Katherine "Macca" McInerny is a former Australian women's basketball player.
Joanne (Jo) Metcalfe is a former Australian women's basketball player.
Rebecca Kate "Bec" Allen is an Australian professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Georgina (Gina) Stevens is a retired Australian women's basketball player, who represented the country at both junior and senior levels.
Vicki Daldy is a retired Australian women's basketball player, who represented the country at both junior and senior levels. Her married name is Vicki Valk.
Eziyoda "Ezi" Magbegor is an Australian professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and USK Prague of the EuroLeague Women and the Czech Women's Basketball League. Magbegor was a member of the Australian Women's basketball team (Opals) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Opals were eliminated after losing to the US in the quarterfinals. She was part of the Australian team that won bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Alanna Smith is an Australian professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Shandong Six Stars of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA). She played college basketball for the Stanford Cardinal.