Brydens Sydney Uni Flames boom youngster Tahlia Tupaea has been rewarded for her impressive 2013/14 WNBL season, earning selection in the Jayco Australian U17 women’s team that will travel to China next month.
Tupaea, who averaged 12 minutes per game for the Flames in this seasons WNBL, will join 11 other players on a hectic tour of China that will include nine games in just 11 days.
The Penrith junior has been involved with the Flames since she was 13 as part of the Sydney Uni Flames inaugural Academy Program – which is a large part of the club’s ongoing commitment to developing elite young NSW female athletes.
In October 2012, Tupaea became the second youngest debutant in WNBL history when she played against the West Coast Waves at just 15 years and 133 days of age, finished the 2012/13 WNBL season with nine impressive games to her name.
The Australians will face host nation China and two other countries in a four-team tournament, with their first game scheduled for April 24 against the hosts.
With three months until the 2014 FIBA Under 17 World Championship for Women, this tour shapes as pivotal in the team’s preparations for Slovakia, with the team hoping to build on their impressive performances at the 2013 FIBA Oceania Under 17 Championships.
Following the tour of China, the squad will reconvene in late-May at the Basketball Australia National Centre of Excellence for a second camp before departing for Europe in mid-June for pre-tournament fixtures.
The Jayco Australian Under 17 Women’s team are in China from April 23 to May 6.
Jayco Australian Under 17 Women’s Team – Tour of China
MADELEINE DENNIS (WAM)
JASMINE FORCADILLA (NSWM)
BRIDE KENNEDY-HOPOATE (QLDS)
ANNELI MALEY (VICM)
DANIJELA MILISIC (NSWM)
BRIDGET O’BRIEN (QLDS)
TAYLOR ORTLEPP (SAM)
GEORGIA PINEAU (VICM)
MADDISON ROCCI (VICM)
ALEXANDRA SHARP (VICM)
TAHLIA TUPAEA (NSWM)
MORGAN YAEGER (SAM)
