By Marcus Uhe
One of the greatest Australian basketballers to ever grace the court will return to the WNBL next season with Lauren Jackson confirming she will play another season for the Southside Flyers.
Jackson confirmed her return on Monday 2 October, having missed the conclusion of last year’s season due to an Achilles injury as part of a remarkable career comeback that began at the Women’s World Cup in Sydney in late 2022.
Jackson will be gunning for a sixth WNBL Championship to go with her four WNBL MVP awards, four Olympic Games selections and two WNBA Championships in the United States as part of a glittering career that saw her inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame last year.
She averaged 13.5 points and 5.1 rebounds in her 14 games last season while shooting 47.7 per cent from the field.
Rebecca Cole, Maddy Rocci, Nyadiew Puoch, and Carley Ernst will all join Jackson in returning for another season in teal, eager to go one-better than they did last season when they fell in the finals to Townsville.
Members of the 2020 Flyers championship-winning side in centre, Mercedes Russell and point guard, Leilani Mitchell, return to the Flyers, with Russell having played abroad since and Leilani crossing over from the Boomers.
Veteran forward Klara Wischer and fellow former Boomer Lou Brown will also take to the court for Southside, as will emerging star from the United States Jasmine Hickey, who made a name herself at the collegiate level as the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Women’s Basketball Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons in 2020-21 and 2021-22, as voted by league coaches.
The Flyers begin their campaign with a local derby against the Melbourne Boomers and former Flyer Monique Conti at Wantirna South’s State Basketball Centre on Saturday 4 November with the Michele Timms Cup on the line.
The two faced off in a preseason game on Saturday night, where the Boomers secured a 79-67 win at the Diamond Valley Sports and Fitness centre.
Puoch had 21 points and seven rebounds while Ernst contributed an 18-point, 11 rebound double-double.
