LACEY LOWDOWN

Kalani Purcell follows in her older sister’s footsteps as she becomes the newest Tall Fern in the Purcell family

The squad boasts four players who played in the 2012/13 WNBL in Australia. Lisa Wallbutton , Toni Edmondson and debutant Kate Fielding played under Tall Ferns coach Kennedy Hamilton-Kereama at Perth for West Coast Waves, and Micaela Cocks played for beaten finalists Townsville Fire. Wallbutton, Cocks and Edmondson are current internationals and will provide the back bone of the team along with Jordan Hunter and Casey Lockwood – the seven other players are all debutants.

Micaela Cocks – North Harbour Micaela was a stand out player at Oregan University (MVP in her senior year) before embarking on a professional career that took her briefly to Poland and France. She has played for the Townsville Fire for the past two seasons. Averaged 8.7ppg last season for the WNBL beaten finalists. Cocks has played for the Tall Ferns since 2005.

Lisa Wallbutton – North Harbour Last season played for the West Coast Waves in the ANBL averaging 7.8points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Lisa has previously played for the Christchurch Sirens, Adelaide Lightning and Bendigo Spirit in the ANBL. Wallbutton has played for the Tall Ferns since 2005.

Antonia ‘Toni’ Edmondson– Canterbury A team mate of Wallbutton, Toni also played for the West Coast Waves, last season averaging 9.4ppg. Previous WNBL clubs have been Christchurch Sirens, Dandenong Rangers and Adelaide Lightning. Has been a member of the National team since 2008.

Jordan Hunter– Counties Manukau Jordan has a basketball scholarship at Southeast Missouri State University but did return to play for the Auckland Lady Hawks this year. Jordan first appeared for the Tall Ferns in 2010 in the series against Japan.

Casey Lockwood–Ross California A graduate of the prestigious Princeton University where she started in 56 games. Casey is currently playing for Joondalup City Wanneroo Wolves in the Western Australian State League having also played two seasons with the Townsville Fire. Previously played for Otago Goldrush, WBC champions in 2011. Debuted for the Tall Ferns in 2012.

Kate Fielding – Perth Australian born Kate Fielding is the surprise name in the team, plays for the West Coast Waves although only played 7 games last season averaging 2.0ppg. She has made over 250 appearances in the WA state league for Cockburn Cougars this season averaging 12ppg.

Megan Craig – Whangarei At 203cm/ 6’8” 20 year old Megan is the tallest member of the squad. Yet to play international basketball she is about to return for the third year of her scholarship at the University of Albany. Craig averaged 10.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for Albany last season.

Jess Bygate – Nelson The 21 year old 6’1” forward is a senior at Dickinson State University, North Dakota. Coach at Dickinson State is Cantabrian Caleb Harrison. Was a member of the 2012 WBC Champion Nelson Sparks team

Stella Beck – Hutt Valley 17 years old small forward Beck is in her final year at Hutt Valley High School. She was a key member of the Hutt Valley Flyers side that won the 2013 Women’s Basketball Championships and was voted MVP of the Championships. She was also a key member of the 2012 Junior Tall Ferns that lost to Australia at the FIBA Oceania Under 19 Championships.

Penina Davidson – Auckland 17 years old Davidson has been a stand out in age group and school basketball for a number of seasons now.Penina has played three seasons in the WBC most recently with the Auckland Lady Hawks. Has won multiple national titles the most recent being the Under 19 Championship with Waitakere West – named tournament MVP. Like Beck she was a stand out player at the 2012FIBA Oceania Under 19 Championships. The Rangitoto College student represented the New Zealand Secondary Schools Netball team earlier in the year but she intends to pursue her basketball career having already attracted the attention of a number of Division One Colleges in the US.

Samara Gallaher – Otago Former Junior Tall Fern Gallaher plays for the Otago Goldrush in the WBC and was a member of their 2011 championship winning team along with Casey Lockwood. Was named in the Tall Ferns a day after her 21st birthday. She spent a year at Univ of Missouri in 2011-12 but now studying business at Otago University. Father John is a BBNZ board member.

Kalani Purcell – Waikato The third sister to play for the Tall Ferns, she follows Charmian and Natalie into the international arena. Played for WBC finalists Waikato Wizards in the 2013 season and voted WBC Young Player of the Year. She has accepted a scholarship at BYU in Salt Lake City, Utah. Her Queensland school team, John Paul College claimed their third consecutive Australian Schools championship in 2012 – Kalani had a triple double, 25pts/18 rebounds/10 assist in the final!