With 2018 winding to a close, Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence women’s program is proud to announce four graduating athletes.
Isabelle Bourne (ACT), Elissa Brett (SA), Suzi-Rose Deegan (WA) and Eliza Hollingsworth (VIC) have completed their scholarships, having each reaped the full benefits of their time at the CoE and tasting success at both national and international levels.
“Each of these young women has truly embraced the daily training environment and invested whole-heartedly in their development throughout their scholarships at the CoE,” said Centre of Excellence Women’s Program Head Coach, Kristen Veal.
“We strongly believe their growth has made them better prepared for what lies ahead in what promise to be very exciting elite basketball careers.”
Bourne, Brett and Hollingsworth recently announced their verbal commitments to Division 1 NCAA colleges and will be heading overseas next year.
Going from strength to strength during her two years at the CoE, Bourne competed with multiple national junior teams and earned a call-up to the Australian Women’s 3X3 senior team that won Asia Cup gold in Mongolia last year while Bourne also claimed tournament MVP honours.
Brett slotted seamlessly into the SEABL competition and displayed a trademark brand of work rate and physicality after being selected in several national junior squads.
Hollingsworth has completed a stellar 2018 that saw her win a FIBA World Cup bronze medal with the Sapphires and a gold medal as an integral member of the Vic Metro women at the Under-18 Australian Championships.
In addition, Deegan had an impressive tournament for WA Metro at the Under-18’s Championships before going on to win a bronze medal with Australia at this year’s Youth Olympic Games.
“We are incredibly proud of these graduating athletes and excited to monitor their ongoing development as they continue to pursue their basketball goals,” said Veal.
“We believe each of these young women are well on their way to achieving great things in their basketball futures, both professionally and in the green and gold.
“As always, the accomplishments of these young women are only achievable thanks to the support of family, friends, junior associations and state high-performance programs.
“Every one of these influences have greatly contributed to moulding these young women as both athletes and people over a number of years. We wish all the graduates success in their basketball futures, wherever it may lead them.”
2018 Centre of Excellence Women’s Program Graduating Athletes:
Isabelle Bourne – Australian Capital Territory
Elissa Brett – South Australia
Suzi-Rose Deegan – Western Australia
Eliza Hollingsworth – Victoria
In the spirit of reconciliation Basketball Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.