Gorman glad hard work is paying off with Lynx
Steph Gorman is now getting recognised for the defensive menace she is in the WNBL and her all-round game continues to thrive, but she isn’t worried about the recognition and just wants to keep helping the Perth Lynx win.
When Gorman first made the move to Western Australia ahead of the 2023 NBL1 West season her basketball career was at the crossroads.
It’s fair to say that if this latest move didn’t work then she might have given up on her basketball dream altogether. Instead it has been the best decision she ever made and she only continues to see the rewards for the hard work she has put in.
That first season at the Cockburn Cougars was near perfect for Gorman where she was the NBL1 West’s Best Defensive Player and was instrumental in them breaking through for a first ever women’s championship while being named Grand Final MVP.
That led into her first WNBL season at the Lynx where she became an important player on a team that made it all the way to Game 3 of the Grand Final series.
She backed it up with another terrific season at Cockburn in a team that again reached the NBL1 West Grand Final, and now she has only continued to thrive this WNBL season with the Lynx.
Gorman’s defence has been outstanding all season long for the Lynx putting her as a prime candidate for the Robyn Maher Defensive Player of the Year award on Monday night.
She’s far from just a defensive pest though. She continues to be a terrific three-point shooter going at 37 per cent while her all-round game and ability is improving all the time, and she couldn’t be happier to be at the Lynx with one game of the regular season to go.
“I am happy with how the season has gone so far. I love it here and I love the system, and I think it’s a lot easier for me to thrive here when it fits in with me so well. I feel very lucky to be here and enjoying the exciting part of the season coming up,” Gorman said.
“This is the most exciting time of the year and the pressure is on, but that makes it so much fun to play and knowing everyone is watching. I think it’s just really exciting to be part of and I feel very lucky to be able to experience it.”
Thriving in Lynx environment
All Gorman’s numbers have improved in her second WNBL season with her now up to 6.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals a game while playing 24.4 minutes which is up on the 21.9 she played last season.
Her three-point shooting has also improved from 34 to 37 per cent and without wanting to jinx her, she’s yet to miss a free-throw this season too from just four attempts admittedly.
Having now been in a full-time environment with the Lynx the last two years is something Gorman feels has helped her all-round game grow immensely.
“It helps so much being full-time now and I think that’s evident on the court. Just being around basketball players all the time and looking up to the people on my team that I can learn from, and getting to work so much with coaches is such a help,” she said.
“I know Ryan (Petrik) and I have done a lot of individual sessions working on ball handling a lot, and those sort of skills. It’s been awesome and such a great opportunity being able to spend so much time on my game.”
Teammates pushing each other
The other aspect that is helping Gorman is that every day at practice by coming up against teammates like Miela Sowah, Alex Ciabbatoni, Amy Atwell and Ally Wilson is every bit as challenging as anything she faces on game day.
“It helps so much getting to go up against such great players every day,” Gorman said.
“It’s such an advantage for my game development and it just is a credit to how deep our team goes, and how incredible the players on our team are. I’m very lucky to be able to compete every day instead of just having to wait to test yourself on game day, it’s pretty cool.”
Starting to earn recognition
When Gorman first came into the WNBL she was known mostly as a three and D type player – renowned for her defence and ability to knock down the three-point shot.
She still is that, but also has so much more to her game being able to defend a whole variety of players along with being more proficient with the ball in hand to either create for her teammates or get to the basket.
It is at the defensive end her reputation is building, though, and while she doesn’t do it for the recognition, she doesn’t mind that people are starting to take notice.
“It’s really cool and it’s such a cool thing to get some recognised for what I’m doing out there,” Gorman said.
“I know that offence gets most of the glory in the game, but defence is just as important and it feels great that people are noticing all that hard work that I put into it.
“I just really enjoy that side of the game so I would do it still without getting any praise from anyone. I do it because I enjoy it, but it’s also really nice getting that recognition as well.”
Looking to break through
It’s been a mixed bag of team success for Gorman so far since coming to WA with her being part of that NBL1 West championship at the Cougars in 2023, but a loss in 2024 which came on the back of the losing WNBL Grand Final series.
With most of the players back from that team with the Lynx aside from the additions of Ally Wilson and Laeticia Amihere, they know what they went through and the opportunity that awaits in the coming weeks without really needing to talk about it.
“I think by taking the time by process and heal from it once last season finished was important and then just dealing with that in the off-season, and taking that time to process it and move on from it,” Gorman said.
“This season is totally different again and even though we have a similar team, there’s so much that is different too and we just have to treat this finals series like it’s completely new and not worry about what’s happened before.
“It’s also a real positive that so many of us are back from last year because creating that culture is so important and then ends up helping us with that chemistry on the court.”