Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) are excited to announce its U18 Women’s National Team for the upcoming FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Championship – held in India from 5-11 September 2022.
The travelling squad of 12 includes: Alana Paewai, Allyah Leusogi-Ape, Aria Jane Cowley, Florence Dallow, Jyordanna Davey, Lauren Tewhata, Lilly Parke, Mackenzie Chatfield, Maddie Morrow, Maia Chandler, Sydney Neale and Vitolia Tuilave.
Reserves include: Abby Harris, Izzy Pugh, Kate Herman, Mayako Taingahue, Taiana Day and Teghan Omelvena-Ngatai.
The U18 Women’s National Team will be coached by Natalie Visger, with assistant coaches named as Liam Connelly and Shay Haira. Katherine Wills will be Team Manager and Team Physio will be Shannon Spicer.
This announcement follows both the National Selection Camp – held in Auckland back in April – and last month’s U19 Nationals held in Rangiora, with the final squad of 12 selected based on these key activities.
Visger says that one of the most difficult parts of this journey has been in the preparation of the squad remotely, as the players are spread around Aotearoa.
“The players are all training from our local Associations – so it’s about coordinating with the players and their support staff, because we can’t be there in person with them,” says Visger.
“So it’s been a lot of Zoom chats, making sure players are supported in the right ways – holding film sessions and making sure they’re maintaining their fitness and that sort of thing. There’s a high trust model in place and that’s one of the reasons these athletes have been selected; they’ve shown they can put in the work and they’re committed to continue to improve.”
Visger says that with such a limited amount of prep together, the Women’s Asia Championship will be a learning experience for the athletes and staff.
“It’s my job to help put the pieces together and to put the best product that we can out on the court; we need to make sure that the systems we have in place matches the players, and the players just need to bring their effort and the right type of attitude on this trip.
“I think we have a great chance of qualifying, how far we go depends on the quality of competition we’ll be facing but I really do like our team and the talent that’s coming through. We’ll be a classic New Zealand team, in that we’ll be a little under-sized but we’ll have heart and talented players who can do some really interesting things on the court.
Visger says that due to the current Covid environment, many of the girls haven’t had the opportunity to play international games over the past few years – so the event will be an eye-opening experience for them in terms of the teams they will compete against.
“A few of them have been to Oceanias but for many it’ll be their first time away. They don’t understand the level [of international competition] until they’ve experienced it, and that in itself can be really valuable.
“At the end of the day, we can only say so many things – the players need to learn for themselves. More than anything I can do as a coach, sometimes it’s just a case of putting them out there [against the top countries], and then they’ll go ‘oh this is the level I need to be at’ and that’s extremely valuable for their future.”
The U18 Women’s National Team leaves for India on 4 September, with details of the draw to be released shortly. The FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Championship will be available to watch at nz.basketball/tv/
U18 Women’s National Team
Alana Paewai, Waikato Basketball
Allyah Leusogi-Ape, Basketball Auckland
Aria Jane Cowley, Waikato Basketball
Florence Dallow, Harbour Basketball
Jyordanna Davey, Hutt Valley Basketball
Lauren Tewhata, Wellington Basketball
Lilly Parke, Basketball Auckland
Mackenzie Chatfield, Harbour Basketball
Maddie Morrow, Canterbury Basketball
Maia Chandler, Waikato Basketball
Sydney Neale, Waikato Basketball
Vitolia Tuilave, Waitakere West Auckland Basketball
Reserves
Abby Harris, Basketball Otago
Izzy Pugh, Harbour Basketball
Kate Herman, Canterbury Basketball
Mayako Taingahue, Waikato Basketball
Taiana Day, Waikato Basketball
Teghan Omelvena-Ngatai, Tauranga City Basketball
