The FIBA Women’s World Cup is around the corner and seven NBL1 players will be repping the green and gold in Sydney.
The World Cup starts Thursday with the Opals playing their first game against France at 8:30pm AEST.
For the full fixture including the Finals Phase click here.
The NBL1 Opals squad who will play in Sydney from Thursday 22 September – Saturday 1 October includes Sara Blicavs, Darcee Garbin, Cayla George, Lauren Jackson, Tess Madgen, Anneli Maley and Marianna Tolo.
Kristy Wallace played with the Melbourne Tigers in the 2021 season while Bec Allen, Ezi Magbegor, Steph Talbot and Sami Whitcomb round out the full squad.
Check out what each Opal did this season in the NBL1 below:
Lauren Jackson (Albury-Wodonga Bandits)
The World Cup comes weeks after Lauren Jackson conquered the NBL1 East while also taking the conference MVP home as well. She sent her Albury-Wodonga Bandits to the Coles Express NBL1 National Finals in the process and missed the weekend while prepping for the World Cup.
For the season she averaged 31.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and a block per game for the Bandits and in the week of the announcement that she’d make her fabled return to the Opals, she dropped 40 points and 25 rebounds, just to remind everyone what she’s capable of.
Light work ?
Lauren Jackson had 4??0?? PTS and 2??5?? REB in @NBL1 today to cap off her historic week ?#FIBAWWC x @BasketballAus ??pic.twitter.com/wCMau7yWTD
Sara Blicavs (Geelong Supercats)
Following in her parent's footsteps, who both played for Australia, the energetic Geelong Supercat will be one of the main pieces for the Opals going into the FIBA Women’s World Cup.
The superstar forward averaged 25.6 points and 10 rebounds for Geelong in the NBL1 South, taking her team to the first round of the finals where they lost to Mariana Tolo and the Launceston Tornadoes. Blicavs had 25 points and 12 rebounds in the loss and should be one of the best two-way threats in the tournament.
Cayla George (Cairns Dolphins)
One of the most dominant players this past season Cayla Geroge tore up the NBL1 North with the Cairns Dolphins this past season. She averaged 23.2 points, 16.7 rebounds and 6.8 assists and was named to the NBL1 North All-Star Five.
The Dolphins lost to the Grand Finals runners-up in the Logan Thunder in the first round of the NBL1 North finals, where George put up 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists in the loss. The sharpshooter is headed into her third World Cup and should be as ready as anyone to bring home gold.
Darcee Garbin (Frankston Blues)
The Frankston Blues superstar Darcee Garbin will be a great swing factor off the bench for the Opals in this tournament.
Bringing experience from the 2019 Asia Cup and leading the Blues this season, Garbin is suited for any role on this team. As a role player, she brought home bronze with the Opals, and as the star she averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds and 2.8 assists for Frankston.
Tess Madgen (Bendigo Braves)
The NBL1 South All-Star Five member and Bendigo Braves superstar Tess Madgen is set to take over this tournament. Madgen led her Braves to the NBL1 South Grand Final where they finished as runners-up to Ringwood, she averaged 28.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.2 assists for the season.
After a full NBL1 season playing against many of her now teammates and also reuniting her Melbourne Boomers teammates, Madgen knows her team inside and out and is the perfect pick for the captain of the Opals.
Anneli Maley (Eltham Wildcats)
In 12 months Anneli Maley has gone from her local club the Eltham Wildcats to the WNBL MVP with the Bendigo Spirit, the WNBA with the Chicago Sky and now to the Opals for the World Cup.
Maley missed parts of the season due to the Opals commitments and the WNBA but came back as dominant as ever, averaging 17.3 points, 23.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the NBL1. The Opals will need Maley’s rebounding and passion to get gold at the end of the World Cup.
Marianna Tolo (Launceston Tornadoes)
Joining the Launceston Tornadoes mid-season alongside Keely Froling and Kelsey Griffin, Tolo made the Tornadoes a nearly unstoppable force.
The Tornadoes were only knocked out by two points as the eventual NBL1 South champion Ringwood Hawks stole it in overtime of the Preliminary Finals, despite Tolo's 32 points and 11 rebounds.
The two-time Olympian averaged 19 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in her NBL1 stint with Launceston and will be a key spark plug off the bench for the Opals going into the World Cup at home.
Stay tuned on NBL1 socials for updates on the Opals in the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup.
