WNBL three-point queen Alice Kunek sets sights on Paris 2024 Olympics: Orange Army Bulletin
Alice Kunek reveals her Olympic ambitions, young gun Saffron Shiels goes 14 in 14, burning questions and key match-ups plus the final word from Alice herself. Get your Orange Army liftout.
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After an admittedly frustrating start to her WNBL return, Alice Kunek is ready to show the league – and Australian selectors – why she’s regarded as one of the best forwards in Australia.
Kunek is on a mission to win her third basketball championship in four years, although it would be her first WNBL title since her professional debut season with the Boomers in 2010/11.
The 32-year-old veteran recently returned from a three-year overseas stint first in Poland, then Hungary, where she won championships with both Arka Gdynia and Sopron Basket and featured in the famous women’s Euro League.
But Kunek said her heart was set on another elusive WNBL ring after joining the reigning champions in Townsville.
“That’s the reason why I’ve come here – I want to a championship,” Kunek declared.
“I know Sami (Whitcomb) wants to win one and I’m sure all the girls want to go back-to-back, and I think that’s real full credit to Shannon (Seebohm, coach), Sam (Pascoe, GM) and the coaching staff that have really put together a group of people that are great basketballers, but even better people.”
However her journey back to Australia didn’t go to plan, suffering a groin tear that kept her off the court during much of this year’s pre-season.
Kunek said it was tough joining the squad and not being able to make an immediate impact on the floor in training.
“I came off a pretty good Asia Cup and a tour to China with the Opals and I wanted to keep building momentum and have a really good pre-season and get around the girls and find my feet in the system, so it was pretty disappointing,” Kunek said.
“Sometimes things are put in your path to stop you and challenge you a little bit and I just had to take a step back and look after my body.
“It was pretty disappointing and I’m sure Shannon would’ve loved having us all out there for pre-season, but you can only go with what you’ve got, so you’ve got to go and make the best out of every situation.
“Honestly I’m so lucky. It could have been a lot worse and I know these injuries – a groin tear – can stick around a little bit so you have to be really careful and, touch wood, mine’s been pretty good so far.
“All the support staff were really awesome, helping me get back and I was able to work on other things – I was still able to shoot and I could still work on other parts of my game.”
All of that extra shooting practise has paid dividends for the Nunawading Spectres junior.
After five games, Kunek leads the WNBL in three-point shooting (53.3 per cent), making a league-leading 3.2 long-range baskets per game.
She is also seventh overall in field goal percentage (49.2) and sixth in points per game (16.6), topping the Fire in each category.
“I feel like I’m a pretty good three-point shooter and this season I really just wanted to be consistent so I’ve just been putting in the extra work as much as I can,” Kunek said.
“I haven’t really been too happy with how my two-pointers have been going but I’ve just been trying to work on that as much as I can.
“The team finds me in really good positions, I’ve just got to say confident when I get the ball and keep being aggressive and keep shooting my open shots.”
Kunek started playing basketball when she was five, following in the footsteps of her two older brothers and taking plenty of character building lessons by being regularly beaten in backyard balling sessions.
Now with 225 WNBL games to her name, Kunek has the experience to overcome adversity and she is intent on maintaining the form that saw her return to the Australian fold after years as a castaway.
“I think life is all about obstacles and challenges, right? It’s just about how we overcome them,” Kunek said.
“I was really lucky enough to play in the Opals for a lot of years, and I think probably a big challenge for me was not being in the squad for a couple of years and kind of not really understanding why.
“But I’ve been really fortunate enough to come back into the squad and potentially have a chance to make that Olympic team.
“I think even though it was a really tough time for me, it’s also been a blessing.
“The offensive firepower that we have now in Australia and how fast-paced the game is, it’s been really great to come back into the league and seeing the changes even in the last three years.
“I wanted to come back and help grow the league and continue to showcase the incredible talent that we have here in Australia.”
TOWNSVILLE FIRE v ADELAIDE LIGHTNING
KEY MATCH-UPS
BRIANNA TURNER v MIKAELA RUEF
The Fire worked hard to limit Turner’s influence on the glass in their meeting last Thursday night in Adelaide, holding the 191cm Phoenix Mercury WNBA star to two offensive rebounds – but she still ended the night with 15 points to her name.
Fire coach Shannon Seebohm said his side had been creative in minimising Turner’s impact and was curious how the Lightning would counter in the rematch.
“She’s a tough matchup and a great player and we need to be really tough against her,” Seebohm said.
“We did some things to try and give us a bit more space in that game so she wasn’t directly affecting us, so we’ll probably look at something like that again. It will be interesting to see what Adelaide does to combat that.”
ISOBEL BORLASE v ALICE KUNEK
Alice Kunek’s defensive prowess was too much for young superstar Isobel Borlase to handle last time out but the Fire are bracing for the teenager to come back even hungrier on Saturday.
Borlase scored 10 points, rebounded once and assisted zero teammates.
“She probably didn’t have the best game when we saw her the other night so she’ll be looking to bounce back,” Seebohm said. “I think we’re lucky we’ve got a couple of really good match-ups for her. Hopefully we can keep her quiet again.”
LAUREN MANSFIELD v STEPH REID
The Fire have big plans to pressure veteran point guard Lauren Mansfield across the entire court, giving the 33-year-old nowhere to hide.
“We want to make her life tough to get into their flow and I thought we did a good job last time,” Seebohm said.
“I’m sure Steph (Reid, point guard) will be ready to go again.”
TOWNSVILLE FIRE v ADELAIDE LIGHTNING BURNING QUESTIONS
WILL TRAVEL FINALLY CATCH UP WITH THE FIRE?
It is one of the most gruelling road trips in Australian sport – 9500km travelled and three games in the space of six days.
The Fire started perfectly with back-to-back wins in Adelaide and Perth but now face the task of backing up for the final leg back at the Fire Pit.
Will fatigue prevent the team from matching up with a Lightning team that hasn’t taken the court since last Thursday’s 74-51 defeat to the Fire?
“We’ll need a lot of energy,” Seebohm said. “It’s a tough road trip, especially coming from Townsville.
“The girls will be fatigued from that Perth travel but that’s not an excuse.
“We need to turn up and play really hard and be as physical and sharp as we can. If we do that I think we’ll be in good shape.”
Seebohm said the road trip had enhanced the Fire’s connection off the court and backed those hours in airports to translate into greater cohesion on the court.
HOW FAR WILL ADELAIDE EVOLVE FROM LAST WEEK’S DEFEAT?
Seebohm had a warning for his team that Adelaide would be a different beast to the side the Fire conquered last week.
“Given we played Adelaide a few days ago we’ll have a bit of confidence and the girls will have some recall of what we did and what we need to do again,” Seebohm said.
“I’m sure we’ll see a totally different looking Adelaide team.”
Townsville began its film review from the previous Adelaide game on Tuesday morning.
Seebohm theorised that Adelaide would bring increased defensive pressure and lift the tempo on the offensive end to stretch the weary Fire legs.
IS TONIGHT THE NIGHT SAMI WHITCOMB REDISCOVERS HER RANGE?
One of the greatest scoring weapons of this generation in the WNBL has gone quiet from beyond the three-point line.
Sami Whitcomb has shot 7-33 from three-point range in her past four games, an accuracy of 21 per cent, which is well below her usual high standards.
Alice Kunek, the most accurate shooter in the league this season, said she believed that Whitcomb would most likely pull out of her slump any day now.
14 IN 14 WITH SAFFRON SHIELS
1. What is your favourite random fact?
I nearly chose dancing over basketball because I wanted to be like my big sister.
2. What is the strangest food combination you enjoy?
BBQ and tomato sauce on hot chips.
3. What is your strangest irrational fear?
Vomit.
4. Who would you choose if you could sit next to anyone on a plane?
No one, so I get a row to myself.
5. What is your go-to karaoke song?
Killing me softly with his song.
6. What would your warning label say?
Warning: Can’t drive.
7. A genie grants you the ability to have infinite amounts of one item. What is it?
Fake tan.
8. What is the most ridiculous thing you believed as a child?
Eating the white stuff on water melon will give you melanoma.
9. Do you eat or drink soup?
Eat.
10. Training preference – in the gym or on the court?
On the court.
11. Do you have any pre-game rituals?
Nah.
12. What music do you like to listen to before playing a game?
Mamma Mia soundtrack, or Drake.
13. Do you have any advice for aspiring young basketball players?
Keep working hard and dream big.
14. What’s been your proudest moment as a basketball player so far?
Playing for the Opals.
KUNEK’S CORNER
BY ALICE KUNEK
Basketball is a game of mistakes and generally some luck, and the goal to make fewer than your opposition.
The reality of the game is they’re going to happen, especially with a new team.
There will be moments it doesn’t click and then beautiful instances when it does. It’s how you handle these moments and look at the bigger picture as a team. Something a great coach once told me is to never get too high or too low in life and in sport.
Ride the wave and take the opportunities and chances when they present to you.
The game is about wins and losses but more importantly how you play the game and present yourself to succeed.
As a team we had a great week on the road with two wins against Adelaide and Perth and backing up against Adelaide today for another big game. Another chance and opportunity to get better and improve as a team.
Keep riding that wave and staying true to the work.
Our last home game until before Christmas.
Looking forward to seeing you tonight, Fire Fans. Fire up!
Alice Kunek is a player for the Townsville Fire
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