We rank Australia’s best women’s country basketball players from 2000 onwards
The best women’s country basketball players have made their names as sporting icons in Australia over the years. We look at the 26 players who are the best to have done it since the year 2000.
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WE’VE looked at the country men who have excelled since the year 2000, and now it’s time to look at the women who will go down as our greatest.
From the likes of Lauren Jackson of Albury through to Mackay’s Sandy Brondello, we’ve had plenty to inspire the next generation of young female athletes.
These are the 26 best women’s basketball players from regional Australia since the year 2000:
Queensland
Kirsty Wallace - Longanholme
Logan basketballer Kristy Wallace was 16th pick in the 2018 WNBA draft where she was secured by the Atlanta Dream.
The electrifying point guard was a former John Paul College student before becoming a standout with Baylor University in the US.
The 27-year-old was a member of the Australian Opals 2021 Fiba Asia Cup team that secured a bronze medal and started 18 or 29 games in her WNBA debut season.
Before being crowned the WNBL’s six woman of the year in 2022, Wallace was named on the Big 12 All-Freshman team in 2015, the All-Defensive team and first-team All-Big 12 in 2018.
Marianna Tolo - Mackay
Born in Mackay, Tolo was a member of the junior Queensland squad from 2003 to 2008, picking up a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport in 2006.
She went on to represent the Canberra Capitals in the WNBL for five years before playing a further four years in France.
In 2015 she signed for the Los Angeles Sparks before returning home to the Canberra Capitals in 2016.
The 33-year-old is a current player in the WNBL and represented Australia at the FIBA World Cup in 2014 and 2022.
Tolo is a three-time WNBL Champion (2009, 2010 and 2019), a two-time WNBL all-star (2011 and 2017) and a WNBL defensive player of the year in 2017.
Jenny Whittle - Gold Coast
Whittle broke into the Australian side as a 20-year-old having success at the 1993 World Championships for Junior Women, picking up a gold medal.
From then she represented the Opals at the Commonwealth Games, three World Cups and two Olympic Games.
She was a member of the 1999 WNBA draft where she was selected with pick 37 by the Washington Mystics.
She was a WNBL All Star in 1996, 1997, 2005 and 2006 and was also a WNBL champion in 2006 and 2008.
Having played over 250 games in the WNBL, Whittle was awarded Life Membership in 2006 and was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Sandy Brondello - Mackay
Brondello, who grew up on a sugar cane farm in Mackay where her father built her a grass basketball court at the age of nine, has had an established playing and coaching career.
Beginning in the WNBL, Brondello was named the Australian Basketball player of the year in 1992, was a WNBL All-Star in 1994 and 1995 and was the league’s MVP in 1995.
She finished her professional playing career with a five-year run in the WNBA, playing for Detroit, Miami and Seattle and was a member of the 1999 All-Star team.
She transitioned into coaching straight away when she was named the assistant coach of the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2005, later promoted to head coach in 2010.
In 2009 Brondello was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame and the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Following another assistant stint with the Los Angeles Sparks from 2011 to 2013, Brondello coached the Phoenix Mercury to their 2014 WNBA championship title.
Brondello also finished the season with a coach of the year award, coaching until 2021. In 2017 she was named the Opals head coach, a role she retains, and is the current head coach of the New York Liberty.
Keely Froling - Townsville
Along with brothers Sam and Harry, and sister Alicia, Keely is doing the Froling surname proud on the Australian basketball scene.
Has played a long stint in the WNBL with Townsville, Canberra and now Sydney.
Froling has worn the green and gold along the way.
New South Wales
Suzy Batkovic - Newcastle
The five-time WNBL Champion started her basketball career playing for Port Hunter Basketball Club in Newcastle.
She was selected by the Seattle Storm in the 2003 WNBA draft, where compatriot Lauren Jackson was also playing at the time.
However her main success came at home, winning five WNBL titles with the Sydney Uni Flames (1999, 2001) and Townsville Fire (2015, 2016, 2018).
Batkovic collected two silver Olympic medals at the 2004 games in Athens and 2008 games in Beijing, along with a bronze in London, 2012.
Jennifer Screen - Newcastle
Another Newcastle talent, Screen played her junior career in Toowoomba before joining the WNBL in 1999.
Screen played for Adelaide Lightning from 2001-2005, and again for the 2011/12 season.
She was first named for the Australian Opals in 2005, and through her international career she won gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, silver at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and bronze in London 2012.
Lauren Jackson - Albury
A decades-long career that is showing no signs of stopping, Jackson is one of the most decorated basketballers in Australian history.
She has won seven MVP titles across the WNBL and WNBA, as well as six championships across the two leagues.
Jackson was a player beyond her years, being called up to the senior national team when she was just 14-years-old, and has represented Australia at the Olympic Games four times (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012), including being the flag-bearer in London.
She retired in 2016 due to lingering injuries, but shockingly made a comeback in 2022 at the age of 40, featuring in that year’s FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney.
Katie-Rae Ebzery - Waratah
Ebzery is a 15-season WNBL veteran, though had never won a championship.
She made her Opals debut in 2015, and had previously represented Australia at the FIBA 3x3 World Championships in 2012.
Ezbery was part of the gold medal winning team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, and the silver medal team at the FIBA World Cup that same year.
Elizabeth Cambage - Eden
Perhaps one of Australian basketball’s most controversial figures, but what can’t be doubted is her dominance on the court.
After coming to Eden as a youngster, Cambage went on to become one of the best we’ve ever seen in Opals colours, representing her nation on the biggest stage.
Her biggest accolades include being a multiple WNBA All Star and All-WNBA player, and taking out the WNBL MVP gong.
Victoria
Shelby Britten - Shepparton
A graduate from Newberry College in the US, Britten returned to Australia to earn a place on the Bendigo Spirit’s WNBL roster.
Also has experience in the NBL1 South with Eltham.
Jade Melbourne - Traralgon
One of the up and coming stars of Australian women’s basketball.
WNBA franchise, the Seattle Storm, have Melbourne’s draft rights but she put her American adventure on hold last year and it’s not clear if she will travel across for 2023.
She is currently a star of the WNBL.
Bec Allen - Wangaratta
Allen was recently traded to the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA as she continues her journey in America.
She has played for several teams across American and Europe while also being a key part of the Opals squad.
Tessa Lavey - Swan Hill
A multi-talented sports athlete who has reached the top level in basketball and footy.
Lavey has played for the Opals and earned an AFLW shot with Richmond back in 2020.
She’s had a strong career in the WNBL across several clubs.
She was also part of the Bendigo Spirit’s championship in 2014.
Jenna O’Hea - Traralgon
One of Australia’s most decorated basketballers of recent times, O’Hea is a three-time WNBL Champion and the current captain of the Australian Opals.
She lead the Opals at the 2020 Olympics, and was part of the bronze-winning team in 2012.
O’Hea retired from the WNBL in 2022, after almost two decades in the competition.
Emily McInerny - Bendigo
Was part of a successful Opals’ era during the mid-2000s where the Aussies won Commonwealth Games and World Championships gold medals.
She played over 300 WNBL games and was named Defensive Player of the Year on a whopping nine occasions.
McInerny was awarded Life Membership of the WNBL during the 2006/07 season, and retired from the competition in 2009.
Belinda Snell - Mirboo North
Snell is both a WNBA and WNBL champion, winning the American league in 2007 with the Phoenix Mercury and the latter on three occasions in 1999 (AIS), 2001 (Sydney Panthers) and 2017 (Sydney Uni Flames).
She has won three Olympic medals, including silver in Athens 2004 and in Beijing 2008.
Snell has been playing in the WNBL for Sydney Uni Flames since 2016, and remains on the national team roster.
South Australia
Tess Madgen - Barossa Valley
Part of one of Australia’s most talented sporting families with brothers Ben and Jack excelling in basketball and AFL respectively.
Tess has enjoyed a stellar career that has spanned over a decade in the WNBL, with the majority coming at the Melbourne Boomers.
Her Australian career has netted a pair of World Cup medals and has seen her travel to the Olympics.
Alex Wilson - Murray Bridge
Wilson gained major attention as a teenager and signed with the Adelaide Lightning in 2010.
She has since played for the Townsville Fire and Sydney Uni Flames before returning to the Lightning in 2020.
Wilson is a two-time WNBL champion at the Fire and Flames, and is noted for her excellent shooting from beyond the arc.
Abby Bishop - Booleroo
A five-time WNBL all star who was born in Booleroo in the Flinders Ranges. Played and dominated for the Agnes Basketball Club in Port Pirie growing up and then for the Port Pirie Panthers before joining the AIS in 2006 and eventually being drafted to the Canberra Capitals.
Has also played for the Seattle Storm (2010), Dandenong Rangers, Adelaide Lightning, Townsville, Virtus Bologna (Italy), Ipswich Force and currently the Southside Flyers. Plays forward/centre.
Cayla George - Mount Barker
The centre has just about done it all in the game.
George has won multiple World Cup medals and been to the Olympics in a longstanding career with the Opals, to go along with featuring in the WNBL since 2005, enjoying stints in the WNBA and winning four domestic titles.
Tasmania
Alanna Smith - Hobart
At just 26, Smith’s best years might still already be ahead of her.
She is already an Olympian after being selected in the 2020 Olympics squad.
Smith is currently on the books of the Chicago Sky in the WNBA.
Hollie Grima - Launceston
A star of the WNBL in her playing career which was ultimately cut short by illness.
Grima’s resume includes the WNBL MVP award.
She also represented the Opals and the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
Northern Territory and Western Australia
Stephanie Talbot - Katherine
Talbot began professional basketball career at just 17-years-old with the Adelaide Lightning in the WNBL.
In just her second season she was crowned the league’s rookie of the year.
In 2014 she was drafted with pick 33 by the Mercury Phoenix in the WNBA but opted to play for the Canberra Capitals in the same season.
In 2017 she was re-acquired by Phoenix before being traded to the Minnesota Lynx in 2019.
Since then she has represented the Seattle Storm and more recently the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA and the Adelaide lightning in the WNBA.
She picked up a WNBL all second team selection in 2019, is a two time WNBL first team recipient (2020 and 2022) and was also the WNBL MVP in 2020.
Abby Cubillo - Darwin
Born in 1999, Cubillo is of indigenous descent through her father, a proud Larrakia man.
She relocated to Sydney where she boarded at Barker College before attending the AIS in 2015.
She became the second Northern Territorian to be awarded an AIS basketball scholarship, the first being Toni Gabelish in 1990.
In 2016 Cubillo was the starting point guard that led the Australian under 17 team to a World Championship gold medal.
In 2018 she made her WNBL debut for the Canberra Capitals and in August 2022 was announced as a Adelaide Lightning player for the 2022/23 season.
Tully Bevilaqua - Merredin
One of the more underrated careers in Australian basketball.
The WNBA champion spent over 20 years as a pro, starting out in the WNBL before enjoying a lot of success in America.
Went on to represent Australia and win a World Cup gold, as well as silver at the Olympics.
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Originally published as We rank Australia’s best women’s country basketball players from 2000 onwards
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