Latest news with #Ballarat-born
News.com.au
01-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Rising Australian WNBA star Georgia Amoore suffers ACL injury
Georgia Amoore's WNBA dream has quickly turned to a nightmare with the Australian basketball young gun facing months on the sideline after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury. The No.6 pick in this year's WNBA draft, Amoore's debut season in America could be over before it began after Washington Mystics announced the 24-year-old had injured her right knee during a Wednesday training session. While the severity of the injury remains unclear, the Mystics' statement read Amoore and the team would 'examine treatment and rehabilitation options and provide an update as appropriate'. The Ballarat-born point guard was one of the best players in US college basketball last season, leading Kentucky to its first NCAA tournament berth since 2022, averaging 19.6 points and 6.9 assists. Amoore was the highest Australian-born WNBA draft pick since 2011, when Liz Cambage was selected No.2 overall. She was set to partner fellow Aussie young gun Jade Melbourne in the Mystics' back court in a potential preview of the Opals future. ACL injuries can take between six-12 months recovery time, depending on the severity.
The Guardian
15-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Australia's Georgia Amoore joins Washington as No 6 pick in WNBA draft
Australian guard Georgia Amoore has been selected by the Washington Mystics with pick six in the WNBA Draft. The Ballarat-born Amoore joins a growing number of Australians to be drafted in the WNBA first round while becoming the nation's highest-selected player since Liz Cambage was taken at pick two by the Tulsa Shock in 2011. The Mystics, with a new coach and general manager, had three of the first six picks on Monday (Tuesday AEST). They chose Sonia Citron at No 3, Kiki Iriafen at No 4 and University of Kentucky guard Amoore with the sixth selection. Amoore grew up playing a number of sports including Australian rules football before switching her focus solely to basketball at the age of 17. The 24-year-old started 155 of 157 games over five college seasons in the US, averaging 19.6 points and 6.9 assists for Kentucky this season after transferring from Virginia Tech. Amoore has now risen to become a top-10 selection into the elite women's league despite being shorter than many of her opponents at 168cm. 'As long as people call me too short I've been working on how to counteract that,' Amoore said. 'I know I have to work in different ways and use my brain a bit more, but with my competitive background, I've got that dog in me.' Amoore was dressed on the WNBA's orange carpet by NBA star Russell Westbrook, who has a clothing brand called Honor The Gift. The Australian said Westbrook designed her outfit and was amazing to work with since they first got together on a Zoom session last November. As expected, the much-hyped Paige Bueckers went to the Dallas Wings as the top pick. The versatile UConn star is the latest Huskies standout to go No 1, joining former greats Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'Dallas I'm so excited, a new city, a new start,' Bueckers said. 'A fresh start, so let's get it.' Seattle quickly followed Dallas' selection by taking 19-year-old French centre Dominique Malonga with the No 2 pick. Malonga was part of the silver medal winning French Olympic basketball team. She's the first French player to be drafted this high since 1997, when Isabelle Fijalkowski went second. 'I was so proud to achieve that goal,' Malonga said. 'It showed that French basketball has evolved as we've seen the past few years on the NBA side. We see Wemby [Victor Wembanyama] and Zaccharie [Risacher] show that French basketball is great.' The expansion Golden State Valkyries took Juste Jocyte of Lithuania with the first draft choice in franchise history.
