Basketball Australia Schools Championships live stream: Dual code star to take court by storm (School Championships)

She’s a west coast AFLW prospect, but there is more than one string to the bow of Anjelique Raison and she has the right mentor to prove it. Watch the BA Schools Championships LIVE and EXCLUSIVE with KommunityTV from November 28.

She’s the high-flying, west coast rookie tipped to turn heads at next year’s AFLW draft, but there’s plenty of strings to the sporting bow of teenager Anjelique Raison.

And the Willetton Senior High student will be determined to prove it at the Basketball Australia Schools Championship this month.

The Championships will be exclusively live streamed by KommunityTV from November 28-December 2 with the coverage including at least every match of the Championship division.

The towering Raison will play centre for the Willetton side as they duke it out with the best basketball schools across the country.

Willetton Senior High basketballer Anjelique Raison will compete at the Basketball Australia Schools Championships.

A WAFL Women’s first team regular for East Fremantle, Raison has the opportunity to cap a stellar year on the sporting fields which also included a breakout performance in the annual AFLW Futures match.

The Year 11 student has shown an impressive ability across both the football field and the basketball court, putting her on the cusp of a tough decision to pick between the two.

One person who knows about that decision well is Raison’s coach at Willetton Senior High, Danika Pisconeri, who showed plenty of talent in both sports before joining the West Coast Eagles AFLW squad in 2020.

Pisconeri admitted she saw similarities in Raison’s rise as a dual-code athlete to her own journey, and said it was the youngster’s commitment to her craft that set her apart from her competition.

Anjelique Raison of the WA AFLW 18's contests the ball against Aisha Wright of the WAFLW All Stars during the AFL Under 18 Girls Championship match. (Photo by Stefan Gosatti/AFL Photos)

“I think we do have similarities, in our body type and our frame, but I like to think we are similar because we love the team environment and work hard for our teammates,” Pisconeri said.

“She has the benefit of the physicality from both sports, she’s not afraid of boxing out and rebounding. But it is the basics that she does well. Her work ethic, being a good teammate and having good communication.

“She is composed and she is really coachable. You can push her in a session and then sit there afterwards and have a 30 minute conversation. I think she will go (in next year’s AFLW draft).”

MORE ON THE SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS

- How school champs builds NBA stars of the future

- Six reasons to be wary about Rowville

- Meet the St Luke’s shooters at the Schools Champs

- SA queens of the court ready to keep up winning run

The dual-code athlete is not alone in terms of talented athletes in the Willetton ranks, with the Western Australian school on a mission to prove themselves on the national stage.

Despite being a school that has produced top talents in the past, including Cavaliers 2022 NBA draftee Luke Travers, Pisconeri said that the west was often overlooked on the national stage.

“Before Covid-19 hit, the school had been going to the nationals for the past 32 years,” she said.

“We have a board in the gym that details all the times we have medalled in the past. It is important to reinforce that history with our players.

Timeka Cox of the Futures Team White, Jessica Rentsch of the Futures Team Black, Melanie Staunton, Georgie Cleaver, Kaitlyn Srhoj, Lila Keck and Anjelique Raison of the Futures Team White pose for a photo after the NAB Futures League match at GMHBA Stadium.

“There can sometimes be a little misconception at national tournaments of the level of WA teams and players. There have been times where we haven’t performed as well at these events, but we are not going to the Gold Coast for a week off.”

The Willetton girls start their campaign with two games on the Monday against Templestowe College and a Lake Ginninderra side which features several BA Centre of Excellence talents.

Willetton Senior High is the only Western Australian school competing at the nationals, and has teams in the Championship girls and boys divisions as well as in the Under-20 Div 3 Men.