One of Australia’s best young talents Lily Scanlon returns to the Eltham Wildcats for the 2022 Coles Express NBL1 South season, hoping to build upon the performance of the team in 2021.
The young guns provided what was a surprise to many in 2021 with the Scanlon, Maley and Pizzey combination proving to be a formidable force across the league.
"I think we shocked some people, that’s for sure," Scanlon reflected.
"But Grant (coach Grant Hardy) and the girls, knew we had a pretty good group and we were disappointed we didn’t get to play the finals (due to COVID)."
Starting out in Melbourne’s north-west with Sunbury as a junior, Scanlon moved to Bulleen in U14 and quickly stamped her authority at junior championship and junior domestic in the Eastern Districts Junior Basketball Association (EDJBA).
Scanlon’s connection to her junior club remains strong, with Bulleen sponsoring Scanlon at the WNBL level.
"My junior club is important to me, as they’ve played a big part in helping me where I am now and it is so good having them sponsor me for WNBL," she said.
Joining the team late in 2021, Scanlon will be handed the reins to lead in 2022, after having a full WNBL season under her belt and some time in pre-season with the Wildcats.
"You can see her growing with Melbourne (WNBL) as the season goes along," Eltham Coach Grant Hardy said.
"She is being provided opportunities and she is flourishing as they arise."
View the 2022 NBL1 roster tracker here
Feature image taken by Ian Knight Photography
