The Australia women's national basketball team, nicknamed the Opals after the brightly coloured gemstone common to the country, represents Australia in international basketball.Greenwood. W.A. (2007, p.44). Australian identity – A sense of belonging. Published by R.I.C. Publications, Australia. . . From 1994 onwards, the Opals have been consistently competitive and successful having won nine medals at official FIBA international tournaments (Olympics and World Cups), highlighted by a gold medal winning performance at the 2006 World Championship in Brazil.FIBA Archive. 2006 World Championship: Tournament for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 12 August 2012. At the now-defunct regional Oceania Championship for Women, the Opals won 15 titles.The Landon Trophy for competition between Australian and New Zealand . FIBA Oceania. Retrieved 7 September 2012.FIBA Archive. 2011 FIBA Oceania Championship for Women. History. Retrieved 7 September 2012. In 2017, FIBA combined its Oceanian and Asian zones for official senior competitions; following this change, the Opals compete in the FIBA Women's Asia Cup.
History 1950–60s: Beginnings Basketball arrived in Melbourne in 1905, but the first major international women's tournament was the 1953 FIBA World Championships held in Chile.Nauright, John & Parrish, Charles (2012, p. 361). Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice. Published by Santa Barbara, California. . .FIBA Archive. 1953 World Championship for Women. . Retrieved 14 August 2012. Although the Opals did not qualify for the first tournament, they did, however, qualify for the 1957 Championships held in Brazil. Captained by Lorraine Eiler, the Opals defeated Cuba and Peru.Lorraine Eiler. Basketball Australia: Hall of Fame. Retrieved 14 August 2012. Sixteen year-old Bronte Cockburn led the scoring for Australia with an average of 9.5 points per game, but the inexperienced team ultimately finished in 10th place.FIBA Archive. 1957 World Championship for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 14 August 2012. Since then, the Opals have helped increase the popularity of the sport in Australia.Basketball Australia. Opals History. Retrieved 28 July 2012. Australia would not get the opportunity to participate at the 1959 World Championship held in Moscow because at the time, the Australian Government would not allow the team to travel to the USSR. The Opals would not qualify for a World Championship again until the 1967 contest in Czechoslovakia. With an entirely new team and a single victory over Italy, Australia finished in 10th position for the second time.FIBA Archive. 1967 World Championship for Women. . Retrieved 14 August 2012. Team captain, Jean Forster, led the scoring for Australia with an average of 21.2 points per game, with a tournament high of 34 against Brazil.FIBA Archive. 1967 World Championship for Women. Statistics. Retrieved 16 November 2017. Her 21.2 points per game would remain unchallenged for 35 years.
1970s: Early development In 1971, the Opals travelled once again to Brazil. Led by new head coach Merv Harris, and featuring Jill Hammond, the team made several improvements with only three players from the 1967 squad selected. Although the Opals finished in ninth place, they had victories over Madagascar (twice), Argentina, Ecuador and Canada.FIBA Archive. 1971 World Championship for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 14 August 2012. In 1975, the team headed to Colombia with another new head coach, Jim Madigan. Despite a 74–25 confidence building win over Senegal, as well as victories over Japan, Brazil and Hungary, the team finished in 10th place.FIBA Archive. 1975 World Championship for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
The 1976 Olympics held in Montreal marked the first Olympic medals awarded for women's basketball, but Opals did not qualify for the tournament.FIBA Archive. 1976 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women. . Retrieved 13 August 2012. Their next major competition would be the 1979 World Championships in South Korea, which would prove to be their first taste of success. The coach again was Jim Madigan, and the squad featured some of the faces of the Opals for the next decade such as Jenny Cheesman, Robyn Maher, Julie Nykiel, Karin Maar and Patricia Mickan. The team would have early success defeating Italy and France, as well as thrashing Malaysia 119–14.FIBA Archive. 1979 World Championship for Women. Box Score: Malaysia v Australia. Retrieved 14 August 2012. Australia would lose their next three games, but bounced back winning their final game over Japan to finish in fourth place, their best international result to that time.FIBA Archive. 1979 World Championship: Tournament for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
1980s: Into the Olympics In the early days of women's Olympic basketball, only six countries competed in the tournament, and the host country received an automatic entry.Olympic basketball qualification. NBC Universal: London 2012 Basketball. Retrieved 16 August 2012. Therefore, there were 22 countries competing for the remaining five spots in 1980 Olympics held in Moscow. In the preliminary tournament, the Opals fell to the US and Hungary, and did not qualify for the Olympics.FIBA Archive. 1980 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 13 August 2012. Three years later, the team traveled to Brazil for the 1983 World Championships, looking to demonstrate that their 1979 success was no accident. Despite an early victory over Japan, Australia failed to advance and finished in 11th place.FIBA Archive. 1983 World Championship: Tournament for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 13 August 2012. The Opals were not expected to participate at the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles. However, following the decision by Cuba to boycott the games, the door was opened for the Opals to compete in their first ever Olympics.Williamson, Andrea (25 July 2008). SA Olympians Past and Present – Pat Mickan. ABC Adelaide. Retrieved 16 August 2012. Led by head coach Brendan Flynn, and team captain Jenny Cheesman, the Opals played competitively in every game, but finished fifth out of the six teams.FIBA Archive. 1984 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
The next tournament for the Opals was the 1986 World Championships in Moscow. The first game against Hungary was a two overtime thriller that the Opals lost 79–77.FIBA Archive. 1986 World Championship for Women. Box Score: Australia v Hungary. Retrieved 16 August 2012. The game set the tone for the tournament, and despite some close finishes against the top rated teams, Australia finished in ninth place.FIBA Archive. 1986 World Championship: Tournament for Women. . Retrieved 13 August 2012. The Opals then headed into the 1988 Seoul Olympics with a medal hope, but they lost the first game to host nation Korea.FIBA Archive. 1988 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women. . Retrieved 14 August 2012. The Opals bounced back and defeated Bulgaria, meaning that only the powerful Soviet Union stood between them and a semi-finals berth. In a major upset, the Opals defeated the USSR 60–48, setting up a meeting against Yugoslavia. In a memorable game, the Opals lost a closely contested game at the buzzer 57–56, sending them to a rematch with the USSR for the bronze medal. Motivated by the previous loss, the USSR came out determined and outplayed the Opals 68–53.FIBA Archive. 1988 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women. Box Score: Australia v Soviet Union. Retrieved 16 August 2012. Despite the loss, the fourth-place finish equalled the Opals’ previous best international placing.FIBA Archive. 1988 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women. . Retrieved 22 July 2012.
1990s: Rise as an International force
Building from their success at Seoul, the Opals headed to Malaysia for the 1990 World Championships with high hopes. The team won their first two games against Malaysia and Italy, before suffering a string of losses to Bulgaria, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. In their final game, the Opals came back from seven-point halftime deficit to beat Bulgaria 73–71 and finish in sixth place.FIBA Archive. 1990 World Championship: Tournament for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 13 August 2012. Fifteen teams competed for the five open spots at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and despite a respectable 4–2 record at the preliminary tournament, the Opals did not qualify.FIBA Archive. 1992 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
Two years later, Australia played host to the 1994 FIBA World Championships.FIBA Women's World Championships . Basketball Australia: WNBL. Retrieved 18 August 2012. Led by guard Shelley Sandie's 11.9 points per game, the team scored victories over Japan, Italy, Slovakia and Canada to set up a semi-finals match against China. The Opals held an early lead, but China mounted a second half comeback led by Haixia Zheng's 36 points, and Australia just lost by a single point 66–65.FIBA Archive. 1994 World Championship for Women. Box Score: Australia v China. Retrieved 14 August 2012. In the bronze medal game, Australia played the United States, and despite a small halftime lead, the Opals lost a close game 100–95.FIBA Archive. 1994 World Championship for Women. Box Score: USA v Australia. Retrieved 14 August 2012. The loss however, resulted in a respectable fourth-place finish.FIBA Archive. 1994 World Championship: Tournament for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 13 August 2012. The young 1994 team featured the backbone of Australian teams over the next decade; Rachael Sporn, Trisha Fallon, Michelle Brogan, Allison Tranquilli, Sandy Brondello, Annie La Fleur and Jenny Whittle.FIBA Archive. 1994 World Championship for Women. . Retrieved 13 January 2013. At the 1994 tournament, the team also adopted the Opals as its nickname.
At the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, the Olympic tournament was expanded to twelve teams, making an easier path for Australia to qualify. Captained by Robyn Maher, the Opals started off with strong wins over South Korea, Zaire, and Cuba before losing to eventual gold medalist United States and Ukraine. Australia then persevered through an overtime game against Russia to set up a semi-finals match against the United States. The US won the game 93–71, sending the Opals to a rematch against Ukraine for the bronze medal. Australia held back a second half comeback by Ukraine to win the game 66–56, earning Australia its first ever international basketball medal for either men or women.FIBA Archive. 1996 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women. . Retrieved 22 July 2012.FIBA Archive. 1996 Olympic Games: Tournament for Women. Box Score: Ukraine v Australia. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
In 1998, the Opals looked to build off the bronze medal at the World Championships in Germany. The team featured 17-year-old future star Lauren Jackson, and was led by Michelle Brogan's average of 13.1 points per game.WNBA star Lauren Jackson to carry Australian flag at opening ceremony. Mercury News Media Center (26 July 2012). Retrieved 18 August 2012.FIBA Archive. 1998 World Championship for Women. Player Profile: Michelle Brogan. Retrieved 18 August 2012. Australia put together a dominant performance, winning their first seven games before losing to Russia 82–76 in a close semi-final match.FIBA Archive. 1998 World Championship for Women. Box Score: Russia v Australia. Retrieved 18 August 2012. In the bronze medal game, Carla Boyd's 26 points proved too much for Brazil, and the Opals won 72–67 to earn their second bronze medal in international play.FIBA Archive. 1998 World Championship: Tournament for Women. Event Standings. Retrieved 12 August 2012.FIBA Archive. 1998 World Championship for Women. Player Profile: Carla Boyd. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
2000s: A decade of medals and World Champions