Southland Storm named for Women's D-League

Women’s basketball in Southland took another large step forward today with the naming of the Southland Storm women’s team to contest Basketball New Zealand’s Women’s D-League in Auckland next month.

The ten-strong squad includes a solid local mix of young talent and experienced campaigners for the four-day event at Eventfinda Stadium on Auckland’s North Shore from 17 to 20 August.

Basketball Southland General Manager Jill Bolger is delighted to finally be able to put Southland women out on court wearing the Storm brand.

“We are delighted to be able to launch our new women's brand “The Southland Storm” and to have them play in a Basketball NZ national tournament and also the Schick 3X3 competition this year.”

“We have for some time now prioritised the development of the women's game in Southland with initiatives like Girls Got Game and Girls-only camps at junior levels but COVID 19 has unfortunately seen the cancellation of several events that we would like to have had our ladies playing in over the past three years. 2022 is the year when we now have firm opportunities to get them back on the national stage,” Bolger said.

Well-known veteran SBA coaches Bert Tobia and Richard Hamilton will take the helm as the coaching team with the squad to be managed by Moira Tinnock.

The full squad is:

Lucy Brown

Tyra Dunn

Sarah Hamilton

Grace Holland

Morgan Hunter

Laura Jackson

Bay-Leigh Johnson

Lucy Kean

Jenn O'Connell

Maddie Tinnock

Non-Traveling reserves:

Georgia Bedwell

Kiana Collett

Rebecca Heads