Tall Timber
Tagged in: In The News, Tall Ferns
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Geoff Longley, Christchurch Press
The Christchurch Sirens women’s basketball franchise is courting the country’s tallest netball goal shoot Daneka Wipiiti to play in the Australian league this season.
Former Silver Fern Wipiiti was in Christchurch last week for a two-day trial and her agent is now holding talks with Basketball New Zealand and Canterbury Basketball which run the team.
“She is keen to play and we are keen to have her. However, we have signed all our contracted players so are having to work with BBNZ and the CBA to see if we can find a way to get Daneka down here,” said Sirens coach Leigh Gooding.
“It would be great if we could find a sponsor to help get her on board because we have budgetary constraints.”
Wipiiti(24) stands 1.94m, 4cm taller than goal shoot Irene van Dyk and has played six matches for the Silver Ferns.
She did not make the Silver Ferns squad for the forthcoming world championships in Auckland and does not have any significant netball commitments between October and February when the league runs.
“We would like to share her with netball. We don’t want to prevent her playing that and hope she could fit it in much the way Donna Wilkins does,” Gooding said.
The Sirens need some size on their roster and Wipiiti, who has had some basketball experience, showed she could be effective around the hoop said Gooding.
Wilkins is otherwise the tallest Kiwi player in the Sirens at 1.84m.
Wipiiti already knows sisters Charmian and Natalie Purcell, and Lisa Wallbutton from the Harbour area where she has been based after shifting north from Taranaki.
Wipiiti first played for the Flyers as a 14-year-old in the national netball league and this season played for the Southern Sting.
Gooding said if Wipiiti could be signed and featured this season she might come into contention for the Tall Ferns squad which is seeking to play at the Beijing Olympics next year.
“Beijing has been mentioned and it’s in the back of her mind.”
Meanwhile, the Sirens has named its two American imports for the season which starts on October 5 at home against Townsville.
The players are Ashley Awkward, a 1.68m point guard just out of the University of Mississippi and 1.86m forward Lamisha Augustine who is a season out from San Jose State. Both are Afro-Americans.
Awkward was a starting five player for her team which performed impressively making the top bracket of the NCAA play-offs while Augustine was drafted at No. 41 for the Sacremento Monarchs team two seasons ago but did not make the WNBA after trialling and headed to play in Switzerland.
Awkward is expected to arrive this weekend and Augustine early next week. They are heading straight to Dunedin to train with their Sirens team-mates who are in camp before the Tall Ferns Oceania championship series.
Gooding and captain Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe will attend the New Zealand Breakers opening game tomorrow night in Auckland to view how the organisation operates.
