NOVOCASTRIANS Katie Ebzery and Leilani Mitchell have been included in the Australian Opals team for February's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in France.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ebzery and Mitchell both featured in Australia's Rio 2016 campaign and are on track to compete at their second straight Olympics in Tokyo this year.
Australian will qualify for Tokyo if they finish in the top three in a group containing Brazil, France and Puerto Rico.
The Opals are sitting second on the FIBA world rankings, the highest of the four teams, with France sitting at fifth, Brazil at 15th and Puerto Rico at 23rd.
The tournament will take place in Bourges, France from February 6 to February 9.
Nicole Seekamp and Alanna Smith have also been named in the Opals squad.
Seekamp, who has been impressive for Adelaide Lightning in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), collected a record-breaking 20 assists in round 12.
Smith is included after playing her first season in the Women's Korean Basketball League with Incheon Shinhan Bank S-Birds.
Seekamp's Adelaide teammate Lauren Nicholson has also been included, with Darcee Garbin, Tessa Lavey and Tess Madgen dropping out of the squad.
The full squad is: Rebecca Allen, Elizabeth Cambage, Katie-Rae Ebzery, Cayla George, Ezi Magbegor, Leilani Mitchell, Lauren Nicholson, Jenna O'Hea, Nicole Seekamp, Alanna Smith, Stephanie Talbot, Marianna Tolo.
Meanwhile, former Opals champion Lauren Jackson has been named as a finalist for the women's basketball Hall of Fame.
Jackson was announced as one of 12 finalists at the Baylor University versus University of Connecticut game on Thursday at the XL Centre in Hartford, Connecticut.
Jackson, a four-time Olympian, enjoyed an illustrious 19-year career, playing in Australia, the United States, Europe and Asia.
During this time, she was named MVP in the WNBA three times and and six WNBL Championships.
Jackson was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in May, 2019, and was more recently named as Basketball Australia's Head of Women in Basketball.
Her former teammate Michele Timms is the only other Australian in the women's basketball Hall of Fame.
The inductees will be announced on February 10 and formally honoured at a ceremony on June 13 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
In other news, Newcastle's Cassidy McLean has signed for the Bendigo Braves, who play in National Basketball League.
A member of Australia's world-championship winning under-17 team in 2016, McLean is returning from a knee reconstruction that has sidelined her for almost 12 months.
McLean will be hoping to use the Braves as a stepping stone towards the WNBL, after playing for Bendigo Spirit in the 2018-19 national league season.
