Junior Tall Ferns head coach, Josh Thompson has selected 22 of New Zealand’s top young female athletes to attend an U18 National Team selection camp – to be held on Auckland’s North Shore from 3-5 May 2024.
The athletes invited to this selection camp include: Kaelani Albert-Neha, Elise Carline, Alexa Duff, Elise Gilbert, Katie Harrington, Olivia Hastings, Waiheke Kohunui, Olivia Lassey, Evie Leeson, Kavanah Lene, Tannika Leger-Walker, Joanna MacAskill, Rebecca Moors, Aliyah Newton, Tia Pavihi, Suraiya Rewi, Sophie Rogers, Annika Scott, Zenthia Stowers, Kiama Tahere, Temepara Walker and Sophie Wilkinson.
The camp sees the return of 11 of the 12 athletes from last year’s FIBA U17 Oceania Champs in Papua New Guinea, where the Junior Tall Ferns finished second behind Australia; the exception being Arna Bright who – alongside Shawnee Nordstrom – is unable to attend this camp due to US school commitments. Both athletes remain in contention for the final squad. In addition, Amy Pateman will attend camp as a spectator due to injury.
This selection camp serves as a key selection tool for the U18 coaching staff, ahead of the Junior Tall Ferns presence at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup; held in Shenzhen, China from 24-30 June with the goal of finishing in the top four – and advancing to the FIBA U19 World Cup in 2025.
Coach Thompson says the selection camp is a chance for both the returning athletes from last year’s Oceania Champs in Papua New Guinea – as well as new players on the periphery of age group national team selection – to show what they can bring to the team.
“I thought that last year’s group at the Oceania Champs did a good job; even though we were maybe a little underprepared coming off the back of Secondary School champs, with a lot of the girls playing in that before we left,” says Thompson.
“We believe that they deserved to come back, as they were vital in us qualifying for the U18 Asia Cup – we want to give them another crack at making this squad.
“Looking at the new girls coming in, we thought that some of the girls performed really well at U17 Nationals last year, so we wanted to reward them by inviting them to camp to show us what they can do. Evie Leeson from Canterbury is a good example as she had a very good U17 campaign; Evie ended up becoming a non-traveller last year for Oceania despite not being at camp.
“We’re rewarding these girls for what they do in their regions too, even if we don’t see them in camp – we keep a close eye on these players at tournaments as you never know who might surprise you.”
Coach Thompson says there is a strong focus on preparing the athletes for both an elevated level of play and the heightened quality of opponent, that New Zealand will face at the U18 Asia Cup.
“One thing we’ve been really big on is physical fitness; asking the players what they’re doing outside of the junior camp to prepare for facing physically fit teams and players in the Asia Cup setting.
“A lot of our players are out of high school now – some are going to university or moving out of home for the first time – so we try to keep tabs on them and make sure they’re doing the necessary things to be prepared for this tournament. We have a lot of girls overseas too, so it’s helping them to get their life balance right; supporting them as best as we can from afar.
“We’ll look to leave early this year and have our pre-departure camp in China, that’ll help us get acclimatised. We’ll also have U20 nationals at the end of May, which sits in between our selection camp and when we head over to Asia Cup.
“It’ll be a lot of zoom calls and keeping touch with the girls over the next few months. The players are all working hard and I look forward to seeing them in camp next month.”
Junior Tall Ferns – Selection Camp Attendees, 3-5 May 2024
Kaelani Albert-Neha, Waikato Basketball Association
Elise Carline, Basketball Otago
Alexa Duff, Basketball Otago
Elise Gilbert, Waikato basketball Association
Katie Harrington, outside of NZ
Olivia Hastings, outside of NZ
Waiheke Kohunui, Rotorua Basketball Association
Olivia Lassey, Tauranga City Basketball Association
Evie Leeson, Canterbury Basketball Association
Kavanah Lene, Canterbury Basketball Association
Tannika Leger-Walker, Waikato Basketball Association
Joanna MacAskill, Canterbury Basketball Association
Rebecca Moors, Harbour Basketball Association
Aliyah Newton, Canterbury Basketball Association
Tia Pavihi, Wellington Basketball Association
Suraiya Rewi, Basketball Hawkes Bay
Sophie Rogers, Tauranga City Basketball Association
Annika Scott, outside of NZ
Zenthia Stowers, Harbour Basketball Association
Kiama Tahere, Northland Basketball
Temepara Walker, Waikato Basketball Association
Sophie Wilkinson, Basketball Taranaki
