Isobel Borlase (born 12 September 2004) is an Australian professional basketball player for the

Forestville Eagles Forestville Eagles is a NBL1 Central club based in Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia. The club fields both a men's and women's team. The club is a division of the overarching Forestville Eagles Basketball Club (FEBC), the major administrative ba ...

of the

NBL1 Central NBL1 Central, formerly the Premier League, is a semi-professional basketball league in South Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball South Australia partnered with the National Basketball League (NBL) to ...

. She debuted for the

Adelaide Lightning The Adelaide Lightning is an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League ( WNBL). The club is based in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The club was formed in 1993 and they play i ...

of the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Baske ...

(WNBL) in 2022, and in 2023 won the WNBL Sixth Woman of the Year and WNBL Breakout Player of the Year. In 2024, she was named to the All-WNBL First Team and was drafted 20th overall by the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

in the WNBA draft. Borlase helped the Australian Gems win silver at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup and gold at the 2022 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship.

Early life

Borlase grew up in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, where she attended Loreto College and played junior basketball for the

. She also played

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 did

surf lifesaving Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, inc ...

. She led South Australia Metro to victory at the 2021 Australian Under-18 Championships.

Professional career

Borlase joined the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence in 2021, where she played in four games in the

Waratah League The NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales and the National B ...

. In January 2022, Borlase joined the

of the

(WNBL) for the rest of the 2021–22 season. She appeared in one game. With the Centre of Excellence in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

in the

NBL1 NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia, consisting of NBL1 South, South, NBL1 North, North, NBL1 Central, Central, NBL1 West, West and NBL1 East, East Conferences with both men's and women's compet ...

, Borlase averaged 13.57 points, 5.29 rebounds, 2.64 assists and 2.0 steals in 14 games. In September 2022, Borlase re-signed the Adelaide Lightning for the 2022–23 WNBL season. In the season opener, she had 25 points and nine rebounds in a loss to the

Southside Flyers The Southside Flyers are a 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, however before the ...

. She finished the season averaging 13.5 points per game. She was subsequently named WNBL Sixth Woman of the Year and WNBL Breakout Player of the Year. Borlase joined the

of the

for the 2023 season, but appeared in only two games. A back injury limited her during the 2023 off-season. In May 2023, Borlase re-signed the Adelaide Lightning for the

2023–24 WNBL season The 2023–24 WNBL season is the 44th season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Townsville Fire were the defending champions, but were defeated in the Semi-Finals by Perth. The Southside Flyers won their fifth championship ti ...

. She entered WNBA draft pick discussions in her second full season, and with team captain

Stephanie Talbot Stephanie Talbot (born 15 June 1994) is an Australian professional basketball player. Talbot was a member of the Australian Women's basketball team (Opals) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Opals were eliminated after losing to the USA in the qua ...

sidelined, she began shouldering more responsibility. On 7 January 2024, she scored a career-high 31 points in an 84–68 loss to the

Perth Lynx The Perth Lynx are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Bendat Basketball Centre. For sponsorship reasons, t ...

. She was named to the All-WNBL First Team after averaging 15.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. On 15 April 2024, Borlase was selected by the

with the 20th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft. Choosing to remain in Adelaide for another 12 months, Borlase joined the Forestville Eagles for the 2024 NBL1 Central season.

National team career

Borlase debuted for Australia at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Hungary with the

Gems Gems, or gemstones, are polished, cut stones or minerals. Gems or GEMS may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *Gems (Aerosmith album), ''Gems'' (Aerosmith album), 1988 *Gems (Patti LaBelle album), ''Gems'' (Patti LaBelle album), 1994 *G ...

. She helped the Gems win the silver medal. In 2022, Borlase helped the Gems win the gold medal at the

FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship The FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship refers to the under-18 basketball championship for the International Basketball Federation's FIBA Asia zone. The event used to be known as the Asian Basketball Confederation Juniors Championship. The top four ...

in India. She was named to the All-Star Five after averaging 14.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Borlase played for the Gems at the 2023 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Spain. In July 2024, Borlase was named in the

Australian Opals The Australian women's national basketball team is nicknamed the Opals, after the brightly coloured Opal, gemstone common to the country. From 1994 onwards, the Opals have been consistently competitive and successful having won nine medals at ...

' final squad for the

Paris Olympics Paris Olympics Paris has played a role in hosting the Modern Summer Olympics twice before 2024. 1900 following the first Modern Games Olympics in Athens Greece then in 1924. Now more recently, in 2024 starting July 26th. Paris will be the second ...

Personal life

Borlase is the daughter of

Darryl Borlase Darryl Borlase is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Port Adelaide Football Club. Football Borlase was recruited by Port Adelaide from the Ceduna Football Club. He would debut for Port Adelaide in 1985 playing 5 games in ...

and

Jenny Borlase Jenny Borlase , also known as Jenny Kennett, is a former Australia netball international. Between 1989 and 1999 she made 70 senior appearances for Australia. She was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the 1991, 1995 and 1 ...

. Her father played Australian rules football for the

Port Adelaide Football Club Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed ...

while her mother played for the

Australian netball team The Australia national netball team, also known as the Australian Diamonds, represent Netball Australia in international netball tournaments such as the INF Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Constellation Cup, the Netball Quad Se ...

. Her older sister, Ella, has represented Australia in

surfboat A surfboat (or surf boat) is an oar-driven boat designed to enter the ocean from the beach in heavy surf or severe waves. It is often used in lifesaving or rescue missions where the most expedient access to victims is directly from the beach. ...

rowing while her older brother,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, is also a footballer who made his AFL debut in 2023 with the

Adelaide Crows The Adelaide Crows (officially the Adelaide Football Club) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1990. The Crows has fielded a men's team in the Australian Football League (AFL) sinc ...

References

External links

FIBA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borlase, Isobel 2004 births Living people Adelaide Lightning players Atlanta Dream draft picks Australian women's basketball players Basketball players from South Australia Guards (basketball) Sportswomen from South Australia