2021 AUSTRALIAN WOMEN’S 3X3 SQUAD PREPARE FOR OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS
Media Release: Basketball Australia
Congratulations to NSW junior and Basketball Illawarra’s Ruby-Belle MacDonald in her inclusion in the Australian Women’s 3×3 Squad.
Basketball Australia (BA) has today announced the 2021 Australian Women’s 3×3 Basketball Squad ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Qualifying Tournament set to take place in Graz, Austria from May 26 – 30.
This squad, which features twelve of Australia’s top female basketballers, will come together to train under the leadership of Head Coach David Biwer during a four-day training camp at BA’s Centre of Excellence, based out of the Australian Institute of Sport from March 7 – 11.
The Australian Women’s 3×3 team is still vying for a spot in the final eight teams to contest for a medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which will mark 3×3 basketball’s debut appearance at the event.
Of the athletes named, there are four fresh faces to the Australian Women’s 3×3 Basketball Squad: Ruby-Belle MacDonald (BA Centre of Excellence), Lauren Scherf (Sydney Uni Flames), Alexandra Sharp (Perth Lynx), and Alex Wilson (Adelaide Lightning).
Head Coach David Biwer, spoke highly of what he expects to unfold at the camp and beyond: “I’m really excited about the upcoming camp and the potential that it brings. We have some fantastic new faces coming into the squad, alongside our world class and proven 3×3 players.
“This month’s camp will be the first in a series of camps we have planned ahead of May’s Olympic qualifying tournament. Having these camps at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence at the Australian Institute of Sport will provide the perfect high-performance environment to prepare for the challenges ahead.”
When the FIBA 3×3 rankings were frozen on 1 April 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Australian women’s 3×3 team were ranked number one in Oceania and number 21 in the world.
The 2021 Australian Women’s 3×3 Basketball Squad (in alphabetical order):
| Squad Member | Current Hometown | 2020 WNBL Team / Current Team |
| Rebecca Cole | Melbourne, VIC | Southside Flyers |
| Keely Froling | Townsville, QLD | UC Capitals |
| Maddie Garrick | Melbourne, VIC | Deakin Melbourne Boomers |
| Kelsey Griffin | Canberra, ACT | UC Capitals |
| Alice Kunek | Melbourne, VIC / Gdynia, Poland | Arka Gdynia |
| Ruby-Belle MacDonald | Wollongong, NSW | BA Centre of Excellence (Illawarra BA) |
| Anneli Maley | Melbourne, VIC | Sydney Uni Flames |
| Lauren Scherf | Melbourne, VIC | Sydney Uni Flames |
| Alexandra Sharp | Melbourne, VIC | Perth Lynx |
| Carlie Smith | Melbourne, VIC | Adelaide Lightning |
| Marena Whittle | Melbourne, VIC | Adelaide Lightning |
| Alex Wilson | Adelaide, SA | Adelaide Lightning |
The 2021 Australian Women’s 3×3 Basketball Coaching Team
| Coach | Title | Current Team |
| David Biwer | Head Coach | |
| Damon Lowery | Assistant Coach | Whittlesea Pacers |
| Hannah Lowe | Assistant Coach | Kilsyth Cobras |
Note – Athletes’ attendance at the squad camp in March is subject to availability and respective state and territory COVID-19 protocols. Alice Kunek is currently playing abroad in Poland.