The 2degrees Tall Ferns are excited to announce their final squad of 12 female athletes to represent New Zealand at the FIBA Women’s World Cup Pre-Qualifier tournament, to be held in Mexico from next week.
The squad of 12 includes: McKenna Dale, Penina Davidson, Bailey Flavell, Ella Fotu, Pahlyss Hokianga, Esra McGoldrick, Tera Reed, Ashlee Strawbridge, Ritorya Tamilo, Ella Tofaeono, Charlotte Whittaker and Lauren Whittaker.
The squad sees four players return from the Tall Ferns successful FIBA Women’s Asia Cup campaign in 2023 – where the team finished fourth overall – in veterans Davidson, McGoldrick, Reed and 19-year-old Tamilo.
Joining them will be Dale, Hokianga and Lauren Whittaker, who all made their senior national team at the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers in China earlier in February, and Ella Fotu; the 28-year-old capping an impressive return from injury with her first 5-on-5 Tall Ferns appearance since 2019.
That leaves a quartet of new Tall Ferns caps who are set to make their debut in Mexico. Flavell is fresh off of a remarkable FIBA U17 World Cup campaign, where she finished as the tournament’s third overall scorer. Joining Bailey are three athletes who have been playing in Australia’s NBL1 competition; Tofaeono (Townsville Flames), Charlotte Whittaker (South West Metro Pirates) with Ashlee Strawbridge (West Adelaide Bearcats).
The squad also sees solid representation from the G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa league, with seven athletes who played in last season’s competition – including championship-winning turns for Davidson, Flavell, Reed and Tamilo with Northern Kahu – and three players signed up for the 2024 edition of this competition to date.
FIBA Women’s World Cup Pre-Qualifiers in Mexico
The FIBA Women’s World Cup Pre-Qualifying tournament is being held in Mexico City from 19-25 August, the first time the 2degree Tall Ferns have played in this country.
New Zealand will take on Montenegro, Mexico and Mozambique in their Group B pool; if they can advance to the semi-final round, they will face Group A opponents that include Korea, Mali, Czechia and Venezuela.
If the Tall Ferns can finish first overall in this tournament, they will qualify for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournaments in 2026 – their final step in securing New Zealand’s first FIBA Women’s World Cup appearance since 1994.
BBNZ can also confirm that all 2degrees Tall Ferns games at this tournament will be shown live on FIBA’s YouTube channel for the New Zealand public: www.youtube.com/FIBA.
Follow the 2degrees Tall Ferns at this tournament via https://bbnz.link/WCPQ
“Representing New Zealand has always been a dream of mine”
Ella Tofaeono – who recently signed with the UC Capitals in the WNBL – is excited to be able to put on the black jersey for the first time against international competition.
“I’m excited and ecstatic, it’s a great bunch of girls and it’s a really exciting time for basketball in New Zealand, just with new coaches coming in and seeing all the age group [national teams] coming through,” says Tofaeono.
“It’s so cool to be a part of this, and also to see what BBNZ is doing at a high performance level for us as well.”
Born in Auckland, Tofaeono has spent time in both New Zealand and Australia; she considers the Tall Ferns call-up both an honour, and a chance to further connect with her Kiwi culture.
“I’ve been super-blessed to be part of it and I’m grateful to be here, especially because you grow up watching teams play, and that team for me was the Tall Ferns. So representing New Zealand has always been a dream of mine.
“Having this opportunity to represent New Zealand and wear a Tall Ferns jersey is a pretty big deal to me; being born in New Zealand but growing up in Australia, there was a sense of wanting to give back to something I didn’t have always growing up, and that’s my New Zealand connection. So it’s been a personal void that’s been filled for me with this selection, and I can’t wait to put on the black jersey for New Zealand.”
Tofaeono says she is focused on being the best teammate she can be; she is also looking forward to playing alongside Penina Davidson.
“My motto is to treat people with kindness, I want people to remember me as a good person and a good teammate. I want to bring that to the team and to lead by example both on and off the court.
“Just being a good representative for my Polynesian culture is important too; it’s really cool that I get to play alongside Penina after watching her play when I was growing up – now we have two Polynesian representatives in the black jersey which is awesome.”
2degrees Tall Ferns Squad of 12, FIBA Women’s World Cup Pre-Qualifier 2024
McKenna Dale, Whai (Tauihi)
Penina Davidson, Keilor Thunder (NBL1) / Northern Kahu (Tauihi)
Bailey Flavell, Harbour Basketball Association
Ella Fotu, Perth Eastern Suns (NBL1)
Pahlyss Hokianga, Basketball Hawkes Bay
Esra McGoldrick, Casey Cavaliers (NBL1) / Mainland Pouakai (Tauihi)
Tera Reed, Keilor Thunder (NBL1)
Ashlee Strawbridge, West Adelaide Bearcats (NBL1)
Ritorya Tamilo, University of Hawaii (US)
Ella Tofaeono, Townsville Flames (NBL1) / UC Pirates (WNBL)
Charlotte Whittaker, South West Metro Pirates (NBL1) / University of Colorado (US)
Lauren Whittaker, Gonzaga University (US)
FIBA Women’s World Cup Pre-Qualifier 2024, Mexico
Tuesday 20 August | 11.30am NZT | Montenegro vs New Zealand
Thursday 22 August | 2.30pm NZT | New Zealand vs Mexico
Friday 23 August | 11.30am NZT | Mozambique vs New Zealand
