The Lance McLoughlin Trophy for Female Junior Player of the Year for 2023 is Lauren Whittaker.
Lauren enjoyed a stunning 2023 with Mainland Pouākai, Canterbury Basketball and St Andrew’s College.
One of the youngest members of the Pouākai squad she averaged 5.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in her rookie Tauihi season. She was named MVP at the Aon U19 National Championships after leading Canterbury to the title – 17 points and 16 rebounds in the 74-56 Grand Final win against Waikato.
For St Andrew’s College she led the school as they claimed the Whelan Trophy – the Canterbury Schools Basketball Premier Girls Championship. St Andrew’s were the top qualifiers from the region for the 2023 Secondary Schools National Championships. Lauren was named to the Tournament Team after the team finished runners-up.
Perhaps her major achievement was to be selected as the sole New Zealand representative at the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Las Vegas in July. It was the first women’s-only camp ever held. She was one of just 38 top female school-age prospects from 24 different countries. The Camp was held as part of the WNBA All-Star Weekend.
All this was achieved despite missing the entire 2022 season after suffering an ACL injury.
Since then Lauren has made her Tall Ferns debut at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in China and headed to Gonzaga University ahead of her 4-year scholarship with the Zags.
As Lauren is pursuing her basketball dreams overseas her award will be accepted by her very proud mum, Caroline Whittaker.
