The squad for the Australian women’s basketball team, the Seven Consulting Opals, has been selected ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
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Similarly to the Australian men’s basketball team, an initial 26-strong squad will participate in training camps and domestic and international trial games against other Olympic-bound countries in the coming weeks and months.
There, players will be made to prove they have what it takes to represent Australia on the world stage in order to be selected for the final 12-player squad.
Fourteen players will be cut shortly before the Opals travel to Paris where the opening ceremony will take place on July 26th.
How many medals has the Australian women’s basketball team won at the Olympics?
The Australian women’s basketball team is currently ranked number three in the world and has previously won three silver and two bronze medals at the Olympics.
All of these medals were claimed at five consecutive Olympic Games between 1996 and 2012.
Sadly at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the Opals were unable to replicate this success and placed 5th and 8th out of 12.
They did however win a bronze medal at the FIBA Women’s World Cup, which took place in Sydney in September 2022.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be the tenth that the Australian women’s basketball team compete in.
Who is in the Australian women’s basketball team Olympic Squad?
The initial 26-player squad includes several returning Olympians as well as members of the FIBA 2022 World Cup team and players who competed in the 2023 – 2024 Cygnett WNBL season.
The Seven Consulting Opals Paris Olympic Squad consists of Rebecca Allen, Zitina Aokuso, Georgia Amoore, Amy Atwell, Chloe Bibby, Isobel Borlase, Keely Froling, Darcee Garbin, Cayla George, Shyla Heal, Lauren Jackson, Alice Kunek, Tess Madgen, Ezi Magbegor, Anneli Maley, Jade Melbourne, Lauren Nicholson, Stephanie Reid, Maddison Rocci, Lauren Scherf, Alex Sharp, Alanna Smith, Allana Smith, Stephanie Talbot, Marianna Tolo, Kristy Wallace and Sami Whitcomb.
The Opals Head Coach Sandy Brondello said selecting the final squad would be “very difficult.”
“It’s always an exciting time to announce an Olympic squad and I congratulate all the athletes. They all know what it means to play for Australia, and they all want the opportunity to represent their country at an Olympics,” she shared in a statement in mid April.
How does the women’s basketball Olympic tournament work?
In the first round of the women’s basketball Olympic tournament, the Opals will play against Pool B which consists of host nation France, Canada, and Nigeria.
If the Opals rank in the top two teams within this group they will then advance to the quarterfinals.
Alternatively, the two best third-place teams from all four groups will also progress, offering the Opals another route to the next stage of the tournament.
From there, knockout rounds will occur before the winners then progress to the semi-final. The two teams that secure victory in those matches will play against each other in the gold medal game while the losers will take to the court for the bronze medal.
The USA are the reigning Olympic champions and have won the gold medal in the women’s Olympic basketball tournament every year since 1992.
Want more Olympic content? Read more below:
All the Aussies who have qualified to compete at the Paris Olympics
Your first look at the official Aussie uniforms for the Paris Olympic Games
Each and every single sport Australian athletes will compete in at the Paris Olympic Games
Here’s when and where you can watch the Paris Olympic Games
