Donna Wilkins ( née Loffhagen) (born 29 April 1978 in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand) is a New Zealand representative in

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. She married Southland farmer Mike Wilkins on 17 March 2007. Wilkins returned to the

Southern Steel Southern Steel are a netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 ANZ Championship season, 2008 and 2016 ANZ Championship season, 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 ANZ Premiership seas ...

for the 2012 season, after a short stint with the

Canterbury Tactix Mainland Tactix are a New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, Canterbury. Between 1998 and 2007, as Canterbury Flames, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championsh ...

in 2011.

Netball

Wilkins has represented the New Zealand

Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern ('' Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand ...

56 times, making her 50th cap against Barbados in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand. The 1.85 cm, Goal Attack and Goal Shoot, started her career for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

in the National Championships in 1994 as a cool sixteen-year-old. She carried on playing for the province until called into the Silver Ferns in 1996. After four years playing top netball in Canterbury, Donna Wilkins signed with the Southland netball team for the 1997 season along with fellow Silver Ferns captain

Bernice Mene Bernice Papasina Mene (born 18 January 1975) is a former New Zealand netball player. Mene represented New Zealand in netball for the Silver Ferns for 10 years, playing 78 tests. She captained the domestic team the Southern Sting from 1998 to ...

. She shot the southerners into fourth place overall in the championships, a much improved performance of 10th the year before. After Netball New Zealand announced plans for a new semi-professional franchise competition for 1998 season to replace the old provincial champs, the new

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

based franchise the

Southern Sting The Southern Sting were a netball team based in Invercargill, New Zealand that competed in the National Bank Cup competition, formerly known as the Coca-Cola Cup. The Southern Sting team won the National Bank Cup seven times and are the only te ...

retained Wilkins services along with Bernice Mene for the season. During the season Wilkins had scored 38 out of 51 goals against Otago Rebels but eventually lost the championship 57 to 51. She continued to play in the South for the Southern Sting till 2006, when she was called into the Suns basketball team in the American WNBA basketball competition. She returned for the Stings semi final and final game during which she led them to win the semi final game 64–41 against the

Northern Force Northern Force are a former New Zealand netball team based in North Harbour, North Shore, Auckland Region. As a result, they were also known as either North Harbour Force or North Shore Force. Between 1998 and 2007, Force played in the Coc ...

along with the final winning over

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton. Between 1999 and 2007, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017, Magic have ...

in the 2007

National Bank Cup The National Bank Cup was the pre-eminent national netball competition in New Zealand between 1998 and 2007. From 2008, it was replaced by the ANZ Championship. Format In the rounds, each team played every other team once, then the top four teams ...

with a score of 48–46. The Sting won seven out of the ten National Bank Cup titles, being named as one of the world's best sporting teams. Other big names to play for the franchise include:

, Tania Dalton, Megan Hutton, Belinda Colling,

Leana de Bruin Leana de Bruin (née du Plooy) (born 9 July 1977) is a South African and New Zealand international netball player. De Bruin played 34 tests for South Africa before moving to New Zealand in 2000. She made her on-court debut for the Silver Ferns i ...

Liana Leota Liana Leota ( née Barrett-Chase; born 31 October 1984) is a New Zealand netball player. She is a member of the national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and plays for Severn Stars in the British Netball Superleague. Leota was a member of the S ...

, Adine Wilson, Lesley Rumball, Naomi Siddall,

Wendy Frew Wendy Frew (née Telfer; born 15 October 1984 in Invercargill, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player. Frew was a previous member of the champion Southern Sting in the National Bank Cup from 2002 until 2007. With the start of the ANZ Cham ...

, Erika Burgess, Daneka Wipiiti and

Natalie Avellino Natalie Ann Allison Avellino (born 15 December 1970) is a retired Australian netballer, and former assistant coach of the Southern Steel netball team in the ANZ Championship. She made the Australia national netball team from 1994–1995 and again ...

. In 2008 a new trans-Tasman semi-professional league was launched, the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

. Wilkins did not play in the first season due to pregnancy, but continued with the

as an assistant coach. She returned to the playing lineup for the 2009 season, where the Steel improved on their 2008 standing to reach the finals stage; the Steel were eventually defeated by the

Adelaide Thunderbirds Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship and between 1997 and 2007, they pla ...

in the semi-finals. Later that month, Wilkins announced that she would not be returning to the Steel in 2010. Wilkins turned out for the

in 2011, and for the next season returned to Southern Steel which she did with family help. As a member of the

New Zealand national netball team The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern (''Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand s ...

, Loffhagen won two

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 ...

silver medals, at Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and Manchester in 2002.

Basketball

Wilkins formerly played for Canterbury in the NZ Women's Basketball League. In Australia, she played two seasons with the

Canberra Capitals The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberr ...

in the WNBL. Prior to joining with the Canberra Capitals she also was on the

Christchurch Sirens Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

which won 76–55 against

Dandenong Rangers The Dandenong Rangers were an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League ( WNBL). The club is based in Dandenong, Melbourne, Victoria. The team was founded as the Dandenong Rangers, howeve ...

and earned her a Most Valuable Player award. In 2006, she signed for the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established as the Orlando Miracle in ...

s in the US WNBA. As of 2006, Wilkins had 95 caps for New Zealand national team, including the

2000 Summer Olympics 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 ...

in Sydney, the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens (where she played for

Tall Ferns The New Zealand's elite women's basketball team is affectionately known to their home fans as the Tall Ferns. The team has been coached by Guy Molloy since 2018. The assistant coaches are Aik Ho and Jody Cameron. The Tall Ferns have a FIBA worl ...

), and the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne (as captain).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Donna 1978 births Living people New Zealand netball players New Zealand international netball players 1999 World Netball Championships players Commonwealth Games medallists in netball Commonwealth Games medallists in basketball Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Netball players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games New Zealand women's basketball players Expatriate basketball people in Australia Olympic basketball players of New Zealand Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Southern Steel players Mainland Tactix players ANZ Championship players Canberra Capitals players Netball players from Christchurch Sportspeople from Christchurch People educated at Rangiora High School Southern Steel coaches Central Pulse players Southern Sting players