The Perth Lynx are an Australian 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 ...

team based in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in 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) and play their home games at

Bendat Basketball Centre The WA Basketball Centre (also known by its sponsored name, the Bendat Basketball Centre) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Perth, Western Australia. The stadium features eight courts, including two basketball show courts with 1,100 perman ...

. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Northern Star Resources Perth Lynx. The Lynx were established in 1988 as the Perth Breakers. After being owned and operated by

Basketball Western Australia Basketball Western Australia (a.k.a. the Western Australian Basketball Federation) is the governing body of basketball in Western Australia and is responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at a state and local level. History The ...

from 2001 to 2015, the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at RAC Arena, known colloquially as "The Jungle". Afte ...

took over ownership and operation of the team for a period of five years. In 2020, the license was transferred back to Basketball Western Australia. The Lynx have reached four WNBL Grand Finals, winning their only

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

in 1992.

History

Perth Breakers

The franchise debuted in the WNBL in 1988 as the Perth Breakers. After withdrawing midway through their second season in 1989, the Breakers returned to action in 1990. The team appeared in the WNBL finals every year between 1991 and 2000 except 1997, winning a championship in 1992 under coach

Tom Maher Tom Maher (born 4 September 1952 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian basketball coach, who is the most successful coach in Women's National Basketball League history, having won nine WNBL titles. He coached Nunawading Spectres to six ti ...

. They also reached grand finals in 1993 and 1999.

Basketball WA's first ownership stint

In 2001, the franchise came under the ownership of

. The team was subsequently rebranded as the Perth Lynx. In 2010, another rebrand saw the team become the West Coast Waves. In 14 seasons under Basketball WA, the team failed to make a finals appearance.

Perth Wildcats management

In April 2015, the team's license was purchased by the

and their chairman and owner

Jack Bendat Jack Bendat (6 May 1925 – 17 February 2022) was an American-born Australian businessman most known for his ownership of the Perth Wildcats basketball team between 2007 and 2021. Previously involved in construction and media businesses with lo ...

. The Wildcats subsequently brought back the Perth Lynx brand name. In the 2015–16 season, the Lynx qualified for the finals for the first time since

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. They went on to reach the grand final, their first since

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, where they lost 2–0 to the

Townsville Fire The Townsville Fire are an Australian professional female basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). They are the only female professional sporting team of any discipline in the northern half of Australia. The t ...

. In the 2017–18 season, the Lynx won 14 consecutive games throughout the season and finished on top of the ladder, before losing four matches in a row after enduring seven flights in eight days. They lost to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and Townsville in the final weekend of the regular season and were then swept 2–0 by fourth-placed

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 met ...

in the semi-finals. In March 2018, the licence agreement with the Wildcats was extended.

Basketball WA's second ownership stint

In March 2020, the Perth Lynx's WNBL licence was transferred back to Basketball WA. In the 2021–22 season, the Lynx finished in second place with an 11–5 record and reached the grand final, where they lost the series 2–1 to the

Melbourne Boomers The Melbourne Boomers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Boomers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play the majority of their home games at Melbourne Sports Centre – Pa ...

despite winning game one in Melbourne.

Season-by-season records

Source
Year By Year

Players

Current roster

Notable former players

* Fiona Robinson *

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 ...

Tully Bevilaqua Tully Louise Bevilaqua (née Crook on 19 July 1972) is an Australian professional women's basketball player. She formerly played for the San Antonio Stars in the WNBA and the Perth Lynx in Australia's WNBL. The 5'7" Bevilaqua's play style is ...

Carly Wilson Carly Wilson (born 8 July 1982) is an Australian basketball player from Victoria. She has played for several teams in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) including the Dandenong Rangers, Australian Institute of Sport, Perth Lynx and ...

, (2006–2008) * Angela Marino, (2006–07) *

Melissa Marsh Melissa Marsh (born 28 May 1985) is an Australian former professional basketball player. She spent her whole career playing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and State Basketball League (SBL). Basketball career Marsh played in t ...

, (2001–2005, 2006–2014) * Rohanee Cox, (1998–2003, 2011–12) *

Betnijah Laney Betnijah Laney (born October 29, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for Rutgers University. Early life Laney started ...

, (2015–16) *

Tessa Lavey Tessa Rose Lavey (born 29 March 1993) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Bendigo Spirit of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and an Australian rules football player with the Richmond Football Club in the AFL Wome ...

, (2015–2017) *

Sami Whitcomb Samantha Allison Whitcomb (born July 20, 1988) is an American-Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Lynx of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association ( ...

, (2015–2018) * Courtney Williams, (2017–18) *

Antonia Farnworth Antonia "Toni" Farnworth (née Edmondson) (born 10 May 1987) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Ringwood Hawks of the NBL1 South. She has spent most of her career playing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) in ...

, (2012–2019) *

Asia Taylor Asia Taylor (born August 22, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contrac ...

, (2018–19) *

Ariel Atkins Ariel Atkins (born July 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). After a four-year college career with the Texas Longhorns, Atkins was drafted 7th ove ...

, (2019–20)

Honour roll

Source
Perth Lynx Achievements

References

External links

Perth Lynx official website

"Perth Lynx overcame a tough WNBL season but their finals campaign can be built on WAIS Rockets heritage"
at thewest.com.au {{Perth Sports Teams Basketball teams established in 1988 1988 establishments in Australia Basketball teams in Western Australia Sporting clubs in Perth, Western Australia Women's National Basketball League teams