Basketball New Zealand

Tall Fern Lisa Wallbutton will play for the Adelaide Lightning in the 2009-10 AWNBL

Tall Ferns Olympian Lisa Wallbutton will become the latest New Zealander to play in the Australia Women’s National Basketball League later this year, after signing with the Adelaide Lightning.

Wallbutton, currently playing for the Albury-Wodonga Lady Bandits for the South East Australia Basketball League (SEABL), will join Tall Ferns point guard Angela Marino in the City of Churches for the 2009-10 season, tipping off in October.

The 1.83m forward, who averaged 10.4 points and five rebounds at the Beijing Olympics last August, has made a dominant start to the SEABL, winning the women’s player of the month award for March and helping the Lady Bandits to their first win since July 22, 2007.

Last season, the WNBL featured six current or former Tall Ferns, with Marino, who re-upped with the Lightning last month, Tall Ferns captain Aneka Kerr and Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe with the Townsville Fire, Natalie Purcell at the Logan Thunder, and former national team rep Lisa Pardon with the Bulleen Boomers and Adrianne Gilbert with the Sydney Uni Flames.

In seven games this season for Albury-Wodonga, coached by Tall Ferns video technician Ken Hamilton, Wallbutton is averaging 21.7 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists, while shooting 52.2 percent from the field.

Wallbutton produced a season-high 28 points (11/20 FG, 1/4 3pt, 5/8 FT) and her fifth double-double of the year with 10 rebounds, three assists, a steal and block in 38 minutes in Albury’s 75-51 home win over the Frankston Lady Blues in round nine of the SEABL.

Tall Ferns guard Toni Edmondson provided her own double-double for the (3-4, seventh) Lady Bandits with 26 points (11/21 FG, 4/11 3pt), 10 boards, two steals, two blocks and an assist in 36 minutes.

Sticking with the SEABL, Tania Kerr compiled a pair of double-digit scoring games as the Kilsyth Lady Cobras split their round nine double-header.

Kerr had 11 points (2/10 FG, 2/5 3pt, 5/6 FT), 10 rebounds and an assist in 33 minutes in a 75-74 road loss to Nunawading on Saturday, then 18 points (6/13 FG, 3/6 3pt, 3/3 FT), seven boards, three assists and a steal in 33 minutes in an 84-75 home win over Bendigo on Sunday.

Sister Gemma Kerr had a quiet weekend as Kilysth moved to eighth at 3-5 with two points (0/1 FG, 0/1 3pt, 2/2 FT), a rebound and steal in five minutes against Nunawading, and no points and a steal in six minutes against Bendigo.

In the Big V, Pardon dropped 20 points (8/16 FG, 3/6 3pt, 1/1 FT), four rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes in a 73-68 road win for the (6-2, third) Boomers over Melbourne in round seven on Saturday.

In the Queensland Basketball League (QBL), former Cantabrian Shannon Proffit made her first appearance of the season for the (2-1, fifth) Maroochydore Clippers, putting up 22 points in a road win on Sunday.

Proffit went 7-of-10 from the floor, including making her one three-point attempt, and made 7-of-9 from the stripe, to go with six rebounds, a steal, assist and block in 37 minutes in a 91-62 win over the Brisbane Capitals.

Purcell also made her first QBL outing in round three, going for 10 points (4/17 FG, 0/5 3pt, 2/4 FT), seven boards and a block in 33 minutes as her (1-2, 12th) Northside Wizards fell 90-47 at home to the Mackay Meteorettes.