Laura Hodges (née Summerton, born 13 December 1983) is an Australian female professional

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 ...

player, having played in Australia's

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),

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and the WNBA. She currently plays for the Adelaide Lightning in the WNBL. She currently sits on the board of the Australian Basketball Players’ Association She has been a member of

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

, winning a pair of silver medals with the team at the

2004 Summer 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), ...

2008 Summer 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 ...

and a bronze at the

2012 Summer Olympics 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 ...

. She won a gold medal at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

and 2006 World Championships.

Personal

Hodges was born on 13 December 1983 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 ...

. Hodges is a tall

Forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. She was a student in 2006, and attended

Jennifer Screen Jennifer (Jennie) Screen (born 26 February 1983) is an Australian basketball player. She has played for the Australian Institute of Sport, the Adelaide Fellas and the Adelaide Lightning in Australia's WNBL, and has spent time playing profes ...

's 30 June 2007 wedding in Adelaide. Her married last name is Hodges.

Basketball

As a competitor at the 2002 Australian Under-20 national championships, Hodges won the Bob Staunton Award as the player of the tournament. Official Event Program In 2003, she was described as one of the best young talents in the country.

Professional basketball

Hodges is a professional basketball player. She has played in Australia's WNBL,

, and the WNBA. Hodges had a scholarship with and played for the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

in 2000 and 2001. At the end of the season 2000/2001 season, she was voted the NBL Rookie of the Year. She played 44 games for the Australian Institute of Sport team. She played in the WNBL in the 2002/2003 season 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 ...

and was with the team up to the 2005/2006 season. Between 2001/2002 and 2005/2006, she had 85 caps with the team. From her start with AIS until the end of 2005/2006 WNBL season, she averaged 14.8 points a game, 6.5 rebounds a game and 1.9 assists a game. Hodges has played for the Italian side

Basket Parma Basket Parma, also known as Lavezzini Parma for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian women's basketball club from Parma playing in Serie A1. It was established in 1962 as Associazione Basket Parma. Parma's first major success was winning the 1990 ...

. She played for Bracco Geas in Italy from 2010 to 2012, where she wore jersey number 11. In the 2011/2012 season, she played 24 games, averaging 28.7 minutes a game, 9.4 points a game, shot 67.4% from the free throw line, 49.7% from the 2-point field goal range and 35.1% from the three-point field goal range. Hodges played for the

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

in the WNBA and was with the team during the 2006 season.

National team

Hodges has represented Australia on the Junior, Young and Senior levels. As a member of the 2000 Australia Junior Women's Team, Hodges won a gold medal at the World Qualification Series. She was a member of the Australian Junior Women's Team that competed at the 2001 World Championships in the

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 ...

. In 2002, she was a member of the Australian Junior Women's Team that won a gold medal in the World Qualification Series. In 2003, she was a member of the Australian Young Women's Team that competed at the World Championships in Croatia. Hodges was a member of 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 ...

that won a silver medal in the 2002 World Championships in

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") , i ...

. She was viewed by national team coaches in 2003 as an emerging talent alongside other players like Lauren Jackson, Penny Taylor, and Hollie Grima. That year, she was a member of the team that competed in the Oceania Championship Series. She went on to represent Australia on the basketball team at the

where she won a silver medal. Hodges was a member of the 2005 Opals. She stayed on the roster in 2006, winning a gold medal with the team at the Commonwealth Games, wearing number 11. That year, she was also part of the team that took home a gold medal at the World Championships in Brazil. In March 2007, Summerton was named to the national team what would prepare for the

. She stayed on the roster, went to the games and earned a silver medal. Hodges was viewed by national team coach Carrie Graf in June 2010 as one of a quartet of strong players that would represent Australia in a tour of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, 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 territorie ...

and

. In July 2010, she participated in a four-day training camp and one game test match against the United States in Connecticut. She was named to the 2012 Australia women's national basketball team. She was scheduled to participate in the national team training camp held from 14 to 18 May 2012 at the Australian Institute of Sport. She was part of the Australian team that won the bronze medal.

References

External links