Katie Ebzery named in pre-Olympic Opals squad
Katie Ebzery has been named in the Australian Opals squad of 19 for their Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Former Lynx star Sami Whitcomb is also in the squad.
The Tournament will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 10-19 November and represents the new qualification system.
Pre-Olympic qualification tournaments will be held in the other zones simultaneously including the Pan American and African zones.
Head Coach Sandie Brondello said that the tournament is an exciting opportunity to see the level of competition the team can expect at the Olympics next July, and the 19-strong squad gives plenty of opportunity for varying combinations to select from.
“As we enter the next Qualifier for the Asian Zone, we have named a squad of 19 athletes from which the final 12 will be selected from. It is great to include Liz (Cambage), Marianna (Tolo) and Kelsey (Griffin) back in the mix after they missed the Asia Cup due to injuries and WNBA.
The recent Asia Cup showed us areas that we need to be better at and these upcoming games with our best team possible, will give us valuable training and games experiences so that we can continue to improve our team chemistry and execution.”
Full squad:
Rebecca Allen: Arka Gdynia Poland / New York Liberty
Abby Bishop: JCU Townsville Fire
Sara Blicavs: Southside Flyers
Elizabeth Cambage: China / Las Vegas Aces
Katie Ebzery: Perth Lynx
Darcee Garbin: JCU Townsville Fire
Cayla George: Deakin University Melbourne Boomers
Kelsey Griffin: University of Canberra Capitals
Tess Lavey: Bendigo Spirit
Tess Madgen: JCU Townsville Fire
Ezi Magbegor: Deakin University Melbourne Boomers
Leilani Mitchell: Southside Flyers
Lauren Nicholson: Adelaide Lightning
Jenna O’Hea: Southside Flyers
Nicole Seekamp: Adelaide Lightning
Steph Talbot: Adelaide Lightning/Minnesota Lynx
Marianna Tolo: University of Canberra Capitals
Tahlia Tupaea: Sydney Uni Flames
Sami Whitcomb: BLMA France / Seattle Storm
14 November 16:00 AUS v TPE MABA Stadium Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
16 November 16:00 IND v AUS
17 November 16:00 JPN v AUS
The final 12 selection will be announced in late October.