Australia
FIBA ranking	3rd [1]
FIBA zone	FIBA Oceania
National federation	Basketball Australia
Coach	Carrie Graf
Nickname(s)	Opals
Olympic Games
Appearances	6
Medals	Silver: 2000, 2004, 2008, Bronze: 1996
World Championships for Women
Appearances	12
Medals	Gold: 2006 Bronze: 1998, 2002
Oceania Championship for Women
Appearances	11
Medals	Gold: 1974, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1989, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007
Uniforms
Light Dark

The Australia Women's National Basketball Team (nicknamed The Opals) is the women's National Basketball team for Australia. They won Gold at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006 defeating New Zealand's Tall Ferns in the final match with a score of 77-39. They then followed it up with a gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, beating Russia 91-74. The Opals became the first non-American team since Soviet Union in 1983 to become world champions with their victory over the Russians.^[2]

The team's captain and star player is centre Lauren Jackson, a perennial WNBA All-Star team member.

[edit] Olympic history

Women's basketball was introduced as an Olympic sport at Montreal in 1976.^[3]

Year	Games	Result
1976	Montreal	Did not qualify
1980	Moscow	Did not qualify[4]
1984	Los Angeles	5th
1988	Seoul	4th
1992	Barcelona	Did not qualify
1996	Atlanta	3 Bronze
2000	Sydney	2 Silver
2004	Athens	2 Silver
2008	Beijing	2 Silver

[edit] Past Olympics squads

1984 Los Angeles Roster

Jenny Cheesman (Capt), Robyn Maher, Bronwyn Marshall, Patricia Cockrem, Donna Quinn, Patricia Mickan, Julie Nykiel, Kathy Foster, Marina Moffa, Karen Dalton, Wendy Laidlaw, Sue Geh, Brendan Flynn (Head Coach), Kay McFarlane (Assistant Coach), Lorraine Landon (Manager), Eddie Crouch (Referee).

1988 Seoul Roster

Jenny Cheesman (Capt), Robyn Maher, Sandy Brondello, Michele Timms, Donna Brown, Patricia Mickan, Julie Nykiel, Debbie Slimmon, Marina Moffa, Karen Dalton, Shelley Gorman, Maree White, Robbie Cadee (Head Coach), Ray Tomlinson (Assistant Coach), Michael Pattison (Assistant Coach), Lorraine Landon (Manager), Geoff Weeks (Referee.

1996 Atlanta Roster

Robyn Maher (Capt), Allison Cook, Sandy Brondello, Michele Timms, Shelley Sandie, Trish Fallon, Michelle Chandler, Fiona Robinson, Carla Boyd, Jenny Whittle, Rachael Sporn, Michelle Brogan, Tom Maher (Head Coach), Jenny Cheesman (Assistant Coach), Carrie Graf (Assistant Coach), Marian Stewart (Manager), Robbie Barnett (Referee), Michael Butler (Referee).

2000 Sydney Roster

Michele Timms (Capt), Rachael Sporn (VC), Carla Boyd, Sandy Brondello, Trish Fallon, Michelle Griffiths, Kristi Harrower, Jo Hill, Lauren Jackson, Annie La Fleur, Shelley Sandie, Jenny Whittle, Tom Maher (Head Coach), Jenny Cheesman (AC), Carrie Graf (AC), Marian Stewart (Manager), Carolyn Broderick (Dr), Jill Cook (Physio), Carolyn Gillespie (Referee).

2004 Athens Roster

Trish Fallon (Capt), Suzy Batkovic, Sandy Brondello, Kristi Harrower, Lauren Jackson, Natalie Porter, Alicia Poto, Belinda Snell, Rachel Sporn, Laura Summerton, Penny Taylor, Allison Tranquilli, Jan Stirling (Head Coach), Karen Dalton (Ass. Coach), Chris Lucas (Technical Ass.), Marian Stewart (Manager), Dr Scott Burne (Doctor), Annette Tonkin (Physiotherapist).

[edit] Current roster

This was the roster for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.^[5]

Australia Women's National Basketball Team roster v • d • e
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Age - DOB Ht. Club Club nat. 1.5 G 4 Phillips, Erin &0000000000000023.00000023 - July 19, 1985(1985-07-19) 68 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Connecticut Sun United States  1.5 G 5 Bevilaqua, Tully &0000000000000036.00000036 - May 19, 1972(1972-05-19) 65 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) Indiana Fever United States  1.5 G 6 Screen, Jennifer &0000000000000026.00000026 - February 19, 1982(1982-02-19) 71 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Lavezzini Basket Parma Italy  3.5 F 7 Taylor, Penny &0000000000000027.00000027 - May 24, 1981(1981-05-24) 72 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Phoenix Mercury United States  4.5 F/C 8 Batkovic, Suzy &0000000000000027.00000027 - May 24, 1981(1981-05-24) 77 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Seattle Storm United States  5.0 C 9 Grima, Hollie &0000000000000024.00000024 - December 16, 1983(1983-12-16) 74 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Italmoka Pozzuoli Italy  1.0 PG 10 Harrower, Kristi &0000000000000033.00000033 - March 4, 1975(1975-03-04) 64 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) Los Angeles Sparks United States  3.5 F 11 Summerton, Laura &0000000000000024.00000024 - December 13, 1983(1983-12-13) 74 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Levoni Taranto Italy  3.5 F 12 Snell, Belinda &0000000000000027.00000027 - January 10, 1981(1981-01-10) 72 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Bourges Basket France  5.0 C 13 Randall, Emma &0000000000000023.00000023 - May 6, 1985(1985-05-06) 74 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Bulleen Boomers Australia  3.5 F 14 Cox, Rohanee &0000000000000028.00000028 - April 23, 1980(1980-04-23) 71 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Townsville Fire Australia  4.0 PF 15 Jackson, Lauren (C) &0000000000000027.00000027 - May 11, 1981(1981-05-11) 77 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Seattle Storm United States 	Head coach Jan Stirling Assistant coach(es) Gary Fox Legend (C) Team captain nat field describes country of last club before the tournament Age field is age on August 9, 2008

[edit] See also

• Women's National Basketball League
• Australia national basketball team

[edit] References

1. ^ FIBA (2008). FIBA World ranking for women. Retrieved on 26 August 2008.
2. ^ James Dampney (2006-09-25). "US No Longer Invincible". Fox Sports. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,20471771-23769,00.html. 
3. ^ CBC Sports (2008). Olympic Games Basketball History: Women's hoop dreams. Retrieved on 25 August 2008.
4. ^ Australian Opals (2008). Opals Olympic History: 1980 Moscow. Retrieved on 25 August 2008.
5. ^ Basketball Australia (2008). Australian Defence Force Opals (2008 National Team). Retrieved on 25 August 2008.

[edit] External links

• Opals Official Page
• Basketball Australia page
• Media Release referring to Opals Commonwealth Games team

v • d • e 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women Teams Argentina | Australia | Belarus | Brazil | Canada | China | Czech Republic | France | Greece | Japan | Korea | Mali | Russia | Senegal | Spain | USA Continental Championships Africa | Americas | Asia | Europe | Oceania | 2008 Olympics Qualifying Europe

v • d • e International women's basketball FIBA · Olympics · World Championship · World Rankings · U21 World Championship · U19 World Championship · U17 World Championship · Teams Africa FIBA Africa – Africa Championship Americas FIBA Americas – Americas Championship Asia FIBA Asia – Asian Championship Europe FIBA Europe – EuroBasket Women Oceania FIBA Oceania – Oceania Championship Note: The Under-21 Championship is no longer held.