The Australian women's national basketball team is

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

d the Opals, after the brightly coloured

gemstone A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...

common to the country. From 1994 onwards, the Opals have been consistently competitive and successful having won nine medals at official

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

international tournaments (

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

and

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

), highlighted by a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

winning performance at the 2006 World Championship in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

.FIBA Archive. 2006 World Championship: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 12 August 2012. At the now-defunct regional Oceania Championship for Women, the Opals won 15 titles.FIBA Archive. 2011 FIBA Oceania Championship for Women
History
Retrieved 7 September 2012. Effective in 2017, FIBA combined its Oceanian and Asian zones for official senior competitions; following this change, the Opals compete in the FIBA Women's Asia Cup.

History

1950-60s: Beginnings

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

arrived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metr ...

in 1905, but the first major international women's tournament was the 1953 FIBA World Championships held in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

.FIBA Archive. 1953 World Championship for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 14 August 2012. Although the Opals did not qualify for the first tournament, they did, however, qualify for the 1957 Championships held in

. Captained by Lorraine Eiler, the Opals defeated

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbe ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. Sixteen year-old Bronte Cockburn led the scoring for Australia with an average of 9.5 points per game, but the inexperienced team ultimately finished in 10th place.FIBA Archive. 1957 World Championship for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 14 August 2012. Since then, the Opals have helped increase the popularity of the sport in Australia.Basketball Australia
Opals History
Retrieved 28 July 2012. Australia would not get the opportunity to participate at the 1959 World Championship held in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

because at the time, the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

would not allow the team to travel to the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

. The Opals would not qualify for a World Championship again until the 1967 contest in Czechoslovakia. With an entirely new team and a single victory over Italy, Australia finished in 10th position for the second time.FIBA Archive. 1967 World Championship for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 14 August 2012. Team captain, Jean Forster, led the scoring for Australia with an average of 21.2 points per game, with a tournament high of 34 against

. Her 21.2 points per game would remain unchallenged for 35 years.

1970s: Early development

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, the Opals travelled once again to Brazil. Led by new head coach Merv Harris, and featuring Jill Hammond, the team made several improvements with only three players from the 1967 squad selected. Although the Opals finished in ninth place, they had victories over

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...

(twice),

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world ...

.FIBA Archive. 1971 World Championship for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 14 August 2012. In 1975, the team headed to

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Cari ...

with another new head coach, Jim Madigan. Despite a 74–25 confidence building win over

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

, as well as victories over

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

, the team finished in 10th place.FIBA Archive. 1975 World Championship for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 14 August 2012. The 1976 Olympics held in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

marked the first Olympic medals awarded for women's basketball, but Opals did not qualify for the tournament.FIBA Archive. 1976 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 13 August 2012. Their next major competition would be the 1979 World Championships in South Korea, which would prove to be their first taste of success. The coach again was Jim Madigan, and the squad featured some of the faces of the Opals for the next decade such as Jenny Cheesman, Robyn Maher, Julie Nykiel, Karin Maar and Patricia Mickan. The team would have early success defeating Italy and France, as well as thrashing

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Malay ...

119–14. Australia would lose their next three games, but bounced back winning their final game over Japan to finish in fourth place, their best international result to that time.FIBA Archive. 1979 World Championship: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 13 August 2012.

1980s: Into the Olympics

In the early days of women's Olympic basketball, only six countries competed in the tournament, and the host country received an automatic entry. Therefore, there were 22 countries competing for the remaining five spots in 1980 Olympics held in

. In the preliminary tournament, the Opals fell to the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

and Hungary, and did not qualify for the Olympics.FIBA Archive. 1980 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 13 August 2012. Three years later, the team traveled to Brazil for the 1983 World Championships, looking to demonstrate that their 1979 success was no accident. Despite an early victory over

, Australia failed to advance and finished in 11th place.FIBA Archive. 1983 World Championship: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 13 August 2012. The Opals were not expected to participate at the 1984 Olympic Games held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. However, following the decision by

to boycott the games, the door was opened for the Opals to compete in their first ever Olympics. Led by head coach Brendan Flynn, and

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

Jenny Cheesman, the Opals played competitively in every game, but finished fifth out of the six teams.FIBA Archive. 1984 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 22 July 2012. The next tournament for the Opals was the 1986 World Championships in Moscow. The first game against Hungary was a two overtime thriller that the Opals lost 79–77. The game set the tone for the tournament, and despite some close finishes against the top rated teams, Australia finished in ninth place.FIBA Archive. 1986 World Championship: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 13 August 2012. The Opals then headed into the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

with a medal hope, but they lost the first game to host nation

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and Sout ...

. The Opals bounced back and defeated

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, meaning that only the powerful

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

stood between them and a semi-finals berth. In a major upset, the Opals defeated the USSR 60–48, setting up a meeting against

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

. In a memorable game, the Opals lost a closely contested game at the buzzer 57–56, sending them to a rematch with the USSR for the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

. Motivated by the previous loss, the USSR came out determined and outplayed the Opals 68–53. Despite the loss, the fourth-place finish equalled the Opals’ previous best international placing.FIBA Archive. 1988 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 22 July 2012.

1990s: Rise as an International force

Lauren Jackson at the Welcome Home parade in Sydney (1)

Building from their success at Seoul, the Opals headed to

for the 1990 World Championships with high hopes. The team won their first two games against

and Italy, before suffering a string of losses to

, the

and

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. In their final game, the Opals came back from seven-point halftime deficit to beat Bulgaria 73–71 and finish in sixth place.FIBA Archive. 1990 World Championship: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 13 August 2012. Fifteen teams competed for the five open spots at the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, and despite a respectable 4–2 record at the preliminary tournament, the Opals did not qualify.FIBA Archive. 1992 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 13 August 2012. Two years later, Australia played host to the 1994 FIBA World Championships.FIBA Women's World Championships
Basketball Australia: WNBL. Retrieved 18 August 2012. Led by guard

Shelley Sandie Shelley Ann Gorman-Sandie (born 22 January 1969 in Melbourne, Victoria) is a retired female basketball player from Australia, who played for the Canberra Capitals. A three-time Olympian she was a member of the national women's team that claimed ...

's 11.9 points per game, the team scored victories over

, Italy,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to th ...

and

to set up a semi-finals match against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The Opals held an early lead, but China mounted a second half comeback led by

Haixia Zheng Zheng Haixia (; born March 7, 1967) is a Chinese retired professional women's basketball player for the China women's national basketball team and the Women's National Basketball Association. International career In 1983, Haixia made her debut ...

's 36 points, and Australia just lost by a single point 66–65. In the

game, Australia played the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, and despite a small halftime lead, the Opals lost a close game 100–95. The loss however, resulted in a respectable fourth-place finish.FIBA Archive. 1994 World Championship: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 13 August 2012. The young 1994 team featured the backbone of Australian teams over the next decade; Rachael Sporn, Trisha Fallon, Michelle Brogan, Allison Tranquilli,

Sandy Brondello Sandra Anne "Sandy" Brondello (born 20 August 1968) is an Australian women's basketball coach, and the current head coach of the New York Liberty of the WNBA. Brondello played in Australia, Germany and the WNBA before retiring to become a coa ...

, Annie La Fleur and

Jenny Whittle Jennifer Hazel (Jenny) Whittle (born 5 September 1973) is a retired Australian women's basketball player. Whittle was a regular member of the national team for over a decade, from 1994 until 2006. Playing Centre, Whittle was a key contributor t ...

. At the 1994 tournament, the team also adopted the ''Opals'' as its nickname. At the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, the Olympic tournament was expanded to twelve teams, making an easier path for Australia to qualify. Captained by Robyn Maher, the Opals started off with strong wins over

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

, and

before losing to eventual gold medalist USA and Ukraine. Australia then persevered through an overtime game against Russia to set up a semi-finals match against the United States. The US won the game 93–71, sending the Opals to a rematch against Ukraine for the bronze medal. Australia held back a second half comeback by Ukraine to win the game 66–56, earning Australia its first ever international basketball medal for either men or women.FIBA Archive. 1996 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 22 July 2012. In 1998, the Opals looked to build off the bronze medal at the World Championships in Germany. The team featured 17-year-old future star

Lauren Jackson Lauren Elizabeth Jackson (born 11 May 1981) is an Australian professional basketball player. The daughter of two national basketball team players, Jackson was awarded a scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in 1997, when she ...

, and was led by Michelle Brogan's average of 13.1 points per game. Australia put together a dominant performance, winning their first seven games before losing to Russia 82–76 in a close semi-final match. In the bronze medal game, Carla Boyd's 26 points proved too much for Brazil, and the Opals won 72–67 to earn their second

in international play.FIBA Archive. 1998 World Championship: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 12 August 2012.

2000s: A decade of medals and World Champions

With

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountai ...

hosting the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, the Opals gained automatic entry into the tournament. Captained by

Michele Timms Michele Margaret Timms (born 28 June 1965) is an Australian basketball coach and retired professional basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association(WNBA). Many people consider the Melbourne ...

, the team started out with dominating performances winning all of their first seven games, sending them to their first ever gold medal match, against the

. The American team proved too strong for the Opals however, as they won 76–54. Australia won the

Silver Medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, et ...

, their best result in international competition at the time.FIBA Archive. 2000 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 22 July 2012. In 2002, the Opals looked to continue their success in China at the World Championships. Coached by Jan Stirling, captained by Kristi Harrower, and powered by Lauren Jackson's 23.1 points per game (which led the tournament), Australia won its first five games all by double figures. In the second round the Opals lost to

, but bounced back with a 78–52 victory over France in the quarterfinal. In the semi-finals, the Opals lost to eventual

ist USA, but recovered the next day to capture the

with a convincing 91–63 win over

.FIBA Archive. 2002 World Championship: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 12 August 2012. 2006 World Championship for Women Australia

2006 World Championship for Women Australia

At the

2004 Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

held in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, the Opals were led by Lauren Jackson's tournament best 22.9 points and 10 rebounds per game. With

Penny Taylor Penelope Jane Taylor (born 24 May 1981) is an Australian retired professional basketball player and assistant coach. During her 19-year career, Taylor spent the most time with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, where she won three championships. ...

contributing with 14.8 points per game, Australia dominated early winning their first seven games, all by double digits. The Opals set up a rematch of the 2000 Olympic gold medal match against the USA. The United States outlasted the Opals in the fourth quarter to win 74–63, giving the Opals their second straight Olympic silver medal.FIBA Archive. 2004 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 13 August 2012. The Opals headed to

for the 2006 World Championships looking to win their sixth straight medal in international competitions. Led by Lauren Jackson's 21.3 points per game and

's 18 points per game, first and third best in the tournament respectively, the Opals played their best tournament to date. Australia began the tournament with a forfeit victory over

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. They continued the trend by winning their next seven games decisively, with only one contest being decided by less than 10 points. In the

game against Russia, the Opals led throughout, paced by Penny Taylor's 28 points and Lauren Jackson's 11 rebounds. At the final buzzer, the scoreboard read Australia 91, Russia 74; a convincing victory that delivered Australia's first ever basketball

. Penny Taylor was named the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

of the tournament. At the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

, the Opals looked to reaffirm their title as World Champions. In the lead up, Australia went undefeated against

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

, Brazil, South Korea,

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, Russia,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...

and host

to set up a third straight

match against the

. The Opals had trouble hitting the basket and shot just 24% en route to a 92–65 defeat. The team earned their third straight Olympic silver medal, and their seventh straight international medal finish.FIBA Archive. 2008 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 13 August 2012. The 2000s was a golden era for the Opals, winning at least a bronze medal at every official FIBA tournament.

2010s: Ushering a new era

In 2010, the 16th edition of the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

was held in the

. Pre-tournament favourites Australia, USA, and Russia, dominated play in the first two rounds. In the quarterfinals, however, Australia suffered a shock 79–68 loss to the Czech Republic. The loss meant that the Opals could not finish any higher than 5th place, its worst international result since the early 1990s.FIBA Archive. 2010 World Championship: Tournament for Women
Event Standings
Retrieved 13 August 2012. Elizabeth Cambage at day three of the Opals camp

Elizabeth Cambage at day three of the Opals camp

Looking to rebound from their disappointing 2010 result, the Opals qualified for the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

by beating New Zealand three games to nil in the 2011

FIBA Oceania Championship FIBA Oceania Championship was the Oceania basketball championships that took place every two years between national teams of the continent. Through the 2015 edition, the Oceania Championship was also a qualifying tournament for the Basketball ...

. They finished the Olympic preliminary series with a 4 – 1 record, losing to France in game 2, but after

Belinda Snell Belinda Snell (born 10 January 1981) is an Australian women's basketball player. She is a member of the Australia women's national basketball team, and has won two silver medals in basketball at the 2004 & 2008 Summer Olympics, a bronze medal a ...

sank a well behind the half-court line

3-point shot A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

with less than one second on the clock to send the game into

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society), ...

. Against Russia,

Liz Cambage Elizabeth Folake Cambage (born 18 August 1991) is an Australian professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Cambage currently holds the WNBA single-game scorin ...

became the first woman in Olympic history to successfully

slam dunk A slam dunk, also simply known as dunk, is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air, controls the ball above the horizontal plane of the rim, and scores by shoving the ball directly through the basket with one ...

a basketball. In the

quarterfinal A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

against

, Lauren Jackson became the Olympic Games record holder for points scored, overtaking

ian legend Janeth Arcain's tally of 535 points. The Opals accounted for China 75–60 to set up a

semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

game with their long-time

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

. Despite holding a

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

lead, the Opals again fell short losing 86–73. The Opals would however, win their 5th consecutive Olympic medal with an 83–74 win over Russia to claim the

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

. Leading up to the 2014 World Championship in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, a number of long-serving players announced their

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

s or declared themselves unavailable. Those players included Kristi Harrower, Jenni Screen, Kristen Veal, Abby Bishop, Kathleen MacLeod, Samantha Richards, Suzy Batkovic and Jenna O'Hea. Three weeks before the start of the tournament,

withdrew from the team because of a knee injury. Two weeks later

ruptured her

achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

during a pre-tournament game and was ruled-out because of the injury. This resulted in the selection of seven debutants into the squad of 12, a move seen as ushering in a new era of Opals basketball. Despite the loss of veteran players, the Opals went through the preliminary rounds and quarter-final undefeated, setting up a semi-final clash with USA. In a hard-fought game, the Opals cut the lead from 16 points to just six early in the final quarter, before losing 82–70. The Opals would however claim their third bronze medal at world championships with a comfortable 74–44 win against host nation

was named to the tournament All-Star Five. The Opals qualified for the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

following a series win against New Zealand in August 2015. On 31 March 2016, Lauren Jackson announced her retirement from basketball, citing a chronic knee injury as the reason for her decision. The Olympic squad was announced on 12 July 2016 and included seven Olympic debutants and only three players from the 2012 squad. Notable exclusions included three-time Olympic medallist Suzy Batkovic, reigning WNBL MVP Abby Bishop and Rebecca Allen. Despite slow starts which had plagued Australia throughout the tournament, the Opals finished on top of their group with a 5–0 record, outscoring

33–15 in the final quarter to win by six points. In the Quarter-final, the Opals suffered a shock 73–71 loss to Serbia, conceding 26 turnovers and eliminating them from medal contention. This ended a run of five successive Olympic medals dating back 20 years. One highlight was

breaking Lauren Jackson's Australian Olympic record of points scored in a single game with 37 against Japan. It was the third-highest haul by a woman in Olympic history and the highest in 28 years. Following the early exit from the Rio Olympics, Brendan Joyce was replaced in April 2017 by former Opals player and

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season ...

head coach,

. Unlike previous years, the Opals qualified for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

through the FIBA Women's Asia Cup held in India where they won a silver medal. Kelsey Griffin was named tournament

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. With basketball returning to the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

for the first time since

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, the Opals easily accounted for England in the final winning the gold-medal game 99–55. At the

held in Spain, the Opals led their group with a 3–0 record. They then defeated

83–42 in the quarter-final and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

72–66 in the semi-final to set up a gold-medal final with their long-time rivals USA. The Opals lost the game 73–56 with head coach Sandy Brondello stating a lack of offence proved their downfall.

led the tournament scoring with an average of 23.8 points per game and was named to the All-Star Five.

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Women's basketball was introduced as an Olympic sport at

in 1976. From 1976 to 1992, only six countries (teams) participated in the Olympic tournament. However, in 1996 at Atlanta the tournament was expanded to twelve teams. Through the 2016 Olympics, Australia qualified for the Olympic Games through competing in the FIBA Oceania Basketball Championship held each four years in the year preceding the games. Typically, this tournament featured either a two or three-game series between Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

. With the Oceania Championship having been discontinued after its 2015 edition, and FIBA having removed all women's continental championships except for

EuroBasket Women EuroBasket Women is a biennial international women's basketball competition held between the nations of FIBA Europe for women's national teams. EuroBasket Women is also used as a qualifying tournament for the FIBA Women's World Cup and also the ...

from the Olympic qualification process in 2017, Australia will qualify for future Olympics through a two-stage process, starting with an Olympic pre-qualifying tournament involving Asian and Oceanian national teams in the year before the Olympics and followed by a worldwide Olympic qualifying tournament held in the year of the Games.

World Cup

The first official Women's World Cup, known as the Women's World Championship through its 2014 edition, was held in

in 1953.USA Basketball
First World Championship for Women – 1953
Retrieved 21 August 2012. The tournament was expanded to 16 countries (teams) in 1990. Since 2017, Australia qualifies for the World Cup through competing in the FIBA Women's Asia Cup, held each four years in the year preceding the Women's World Cup. Before then, Australia qualified through the

. Typically, this tournament featured either a two or three-game series between Australia and

. FIBA discontinued the Oceania championships for both women and

men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

after their respective 2015 editions, combining FIBA Asia and FIBA Oceania into a single zone for purposes of World Cup and Olympic qualification.

Asia Cup

Commencing in 2017, teams from Oceania and Asia zones competed together for the first time ever with the top four finishing teams qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

Statistics

Team

Current roster

Roster for the

2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup The 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, the 19th edition of FIBA's premier international tournament for women's national basketball teams, was held in Sydney, Australia between 22 September and 1 October 2022. The United States were the thre ...

Past World Cup squads

Past Olympics squads

International caps

The following is a

chronological Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , ''-logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. I ...

list of Australian players who have played at official senior

international tournaments (

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

and

). The list includes both past and present players. Active players are shown in bold. Where two or more players debuted in the same series, their cap number is determined by their official

uniform number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...

(and not alphabetically). As of the 2020 Olympic Games, 112 players have represented Australia at Olympic Games and World Cups. There were no debutants at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Deceased

Individual achievements

Opals all-time games played

Legend * Games played is current as at the completion of the London Olympic Games in August 2012. * (*) denotes the player is a member of the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame. * ''Italic'' denotes the player is still active.

Opals Team Captains

Legend * Tournaments are those officially sanctioned by FIBA.

References

External links

*
FIBA profileAustraliaBasket.com – Australia Women Current Squad
at FIBA Archive {{FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup winners

Women's national basketball teams