23-24 Cygnett WNBL Fixture Unveiled
The Cygnett WNBL has today unveiled its fixture for the 23-24 season, with Australia’s longest-running elite women’s sporting competition scheduled to tip off its 44th edition on November 1.
Spanning five months from November to March, the season is staged within a bumper period of women’s basketball following the 2023 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Sydney – where Australia claimed bronze – and just months out from the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The regular season, which concludes on February 24, will consist of 84 matches as all eight teams play each other three times, while Semi-Finals take centre stage from February 28 followed by the best-of-three Grand Final series to be played on March 10, 13 and 16.
The Cygnett WNBL will celebrate and recognise Indigenous Round in the opening week of the season, with an action-packed fixture kickstarted when Adelaide Lightning hosts the Deakin Melbourne Boomers on November 1.
The Boomers then back up three days later in the first leg of the Michele Timms Cup, taking on arch-rivals the Southside Flyers on November 4, while in the west, Perth Lynx get the chance to unveil their major signing, league MVP and two-time Opals bronze medallist, Anneli Maley, on their home floor against the Sydney Flames.
Monica Okoye, who was a key member of Japan’s FIBA Women’s Asia Cup silver medal campaign in Sydney this month, will debut for the UC Capitals when they host the Lightning on November 5. Opals squad members Sami Whitcomb and Alice Kunek will step out in Fire colours for the first time against the Spirit in Bendigo.
In Round 2, Townsville will unveil its championship banner in the Grand Final rematch against the Southside Flyers while Melbourne championship players now Sydney Flames recruits Tess Madgen and Cayla George, will face their former team for the first time at Qudos Bank Arena on November 12 in a double header with back-to-back NBL champions the Sydney Kings.
The Froling vs Froling showdown has a new layer of rivalry this coming season with Keely’s arrival at the Boomers now making the match-up against Alicia’s Bendigo a Victorian derby. The Boomers play the Spirit in Round 3, November 19, at Parkville.
In partnership with charity Share The Dignity, the second Fighting Period Poverty Round will take place in Round 14 from January 31 to February 4.
The League will break from February 5 to 12 for a FIBA qualifying window where the Seven Consulting Australian Opals will compete for a spot at the Olympics in the 2024 Paris Qualifying Tournaments.
Head of the WNBL, Christy Collier-Hill, said she was delighted to release the 23-24 fixture.
“In unveiling the fixture today, we really hope fans around Australia grab their calendars and mark these dates in the diary because we’re set for a bumper season of women’s basketball,” Collier-Hill said.
“We’re looking forward to once again embracing and celebrating Indigenous Round, which will take place in the opening round, while also raising awareness for our charity partner Share The Dignity via Period Poverty Round which falls in Round 14.
“There were some terrific games and match-ups last year, and we had a wonderful finals series, so I can’t wait for the action to tip off on November 1 and see what storylines evolve in the League’s 44th season.”
All games will be broadcast via either ESPN or NineNow – check fixture for details.
Make sure you pop the dates in your calendar, click here.
