Nicola Mathews looking to build on college years in NBL1

Written by Julia Montesano  

Despite being just days away from turning 23, Sturt star Nicola Mathews already has the impressive basketball resume of an experienced campaigner.

As a Sabres junior, she won back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards in 2013 (U16) and 2014 (U18), led the team to a South Australia District Basketball Championship in three straight seasons (2013-2015) and fittingly won the Neil Gliddon Trophy for the club player with the most potential before heading off to college.

In the States, Mathews began her college journey at the College of Central Florida, where she averaged 11.9 points per game and finished second in shooting with 43.3 percent from the floor.

Even though the stats suggest Mathews was flying at college level, she admits she struggled to get going initially. 

“It was a lot less organised basketball than what I was used to,” she says.

“We trained every day, did weights every day and it was a big adjustment to make.

“On top of that, the culture was a bit different, so it was a difficult time for me.”

After one season in Florida, Mathews transferred up north to play for Appalachian State University.

She thrived in the North Carolina college, playing all 31 games with 28 starts in her sophomore year, leading to being nominated for the Sun Belt’s Newcomer of the Year award.

Mathews continued that good form in her junior year, leading the team in three-point field goal percentage and in the process, highlighting her versatility.

This gave the 22-year-old the belief she needed to explode after initially being a little intimidated by the different physiques involved in the college system.

“The adjustment basketball-wise was mainly the pace,” she says.

“They players are a lot more athletic and more individually skilled, so the game was just a little bit different for me and I had to really adjust to the pace.”

And adjust to the pace she did, dominating her senior year with a career-high 18-point performance, hitting six three-pointers against Arkansas State (which was one off the school record for most threes in a game) and starting in five games. 

Looking back now, Mathews believes her experience in the States was invaluable.

“I met so many great people,” she says.

“It wasn’t just a basketball experience, it was a life experience.”

Like many other ballers around the globe, Mathews had to cut her abroad experience short and head home to continue her journey.

For the 22-year-old, re-joining her childhood club, Sturt, was a no-brainer.

“I love playing with the Sturt girls, they’re great to play with,” she says.

“We play a really good team style of play with good offence and good defence.”

More than anything, Mathews is looking forward to honing her craft in her hometown after spending over three years overseas.

“It’s really exciting to be home and be around people who I love to play with,” she says.

“It’s exciting to get back into some serious basketball again.”

Mathews and the Sabres will begin their NBL1 Central campaign on Saturday night with a big clash against the Southern Tigers.