Sophie Adams

Height: 186cm
Born: October 21, 2002
Junior Association: South Canterbury
High School: Ashburton College

Previous NBL Clubs: Canterbury Wildcats (2019)

Played for the silver medal winning New Zealand team at the 2017 U17 FIBA Oceania Championships in New Caledonia.

From Ashburton, Adams is studying at Otago University.

Plays for the University club in Dunedin.

Hannah Beede

Height: 178cm
Born: May 12, 1995
High School: St Peter’s Lutheran High School, Brisbane

Previous NBL Clubs: Rookie

Played the 2021 NBL1 North season for Brisbane Capitals alongside Tall Fern Brooke Blair.

Previously played 5 seasons in the Queensland Basketball League for Northside Wizards (2013 & 15), Sunshine Coast Rip (2016-17) and Gold Coast Rollers (2018).

Following high school Beede played 2 years at Central Wyoming College followed by a further 2 years (2015-17) at Texas A&M International University (NCAA Division II). Started all 27 games in her senior year and averaged a team high 12.6ppg.

Hannah’s father, Park Beede, was Head Coach of the Otago Nuggets in the early 1990s, and Hannah’s mother, Denise Beede, was the Tall Ferns Team Manager until 2019 when she handed over that role to current Gold Rush player Lisa Wallbutton.

Tara Clement

Height: 170cm
Born: February 22, 1999
Junior Association: Taranaki
High School: Opunake High School.

Previous NBL Clubs: Otago Gold Rush (2020), Taranaki Thunder (2016-19)

Averaged 6.7 points per game in her Gold Rush debut season in 2020.

Played on the Opunake High School team that won the 2016 ‘A’ Secondary Schools National Championship – named MVP at that Tournament.

A member of the Taranaki Thunder team that finished runners-up to Canterbury Wildcats in the WBC 2017 Grand Final.

Graduated from Otago University in 2020 with a Health Science Degree.

Fay Fualau

Height: 183cm
Born: February 16, 1998
Junior Association: Canterbury
High School: Linwood College

Previous NBL Clubs: Otago Gold Rush (2020)

Made her Gold Rush debut against Waikato Wizards, November 2020 and averaged 6.5 points per game during the season.

A graduate of Canterbury University studying Dentistry at Otago University.

Plays for South Pacific Magic in the Dunedin club competition.

Savanna Handevidt

Height: 185cm
Born: August 24, 1994
Junior Association: N/A
High School: Stillwater High School, Minnesota

Previous NBL Clubs: Otago Gold Rush (2020)

In her debut season for Gold Rush in 2020 the power forward averaged 8.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

The Queenstown based Minnesota native played three years at Minnesota State University Moorhead (NCAA Division II) making 83 appearances for the Dragons – all 83 as a starter.

Handevidt was named to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate

Bronwyn Kjestrup

Height: 180cm
Born: July 8,1996
Junior Association: North Harbour
High School: Westlake Girls High School

Previous NBL Clubs: Harbour Breeze (2013-14), Otago Gold Rush (2015-20)

The Gold Rush captain is in her In her seventh season with the club.

Played for the Gold Rush team that won WBC titles in both 2015 and 2018.

Played for New Zealand U18 in 2013.

Doctor Kjestrup graduated from the Otago University Medical School in 2019 and is a doctor at Dunedin hospital.

Beth Mackie

Height: 170cm
Born: June 15, 1994

Previous NBL Clubs: Rookie

From Rutherglen in Glasgow, Mackie played for the Scottish U18 National team in 2011-12.

Won a Scottish National League championship with Edinburg University in 2015.

The following 2 seasons Mackie played 37 games for Caledonia Pride in the United Kingdom WBBL.

Living and working in Wanaka.

Hannah Matehaere

Height: 180cm
Born: September 7, 2002
Junior Association: Otago
High School: Otago Girls High School

Previous NBL Clubs: Otago Gold Rush (2018-20)

Debuted for the Gold Rush in 2018.

Played for the New Zealand silver medal winning team at the 2019 FIBA U17 Oceania Championships in New Caledonia.

Matehaere was a Head Prefect at Otago Girls High School in 2020.

Father Brent is Head Coach of the Otago Nuggets.

Caitlin O’Connell

Height: 178cm
Born: August 23, 2002
Junior Association: Taranaki Country
High School: Sacred Heart Girls’ College, New Plymouth

Previous NBL Clubs: Taranaki Thunder (2018 & 2020)

Played for the D League championship winning Taranaki Thunder team in 2020.

Named to the New Zealand Junior Tall Ferns team for a Four Nations Tournament in China in 2020 but the tour was subsequently cancelled.

Played for New Zealand silver medal winning team at the 2019 FIBA Oceania Championships in New Caledonia.

Studying at Otago University.

Olivia O’Neill

Height: 175cm
Born: September 10, 2000
Junior Association: Otago
High School: St Hilda’s Collegiate

Previous NBL Clubs: Otago Gold Rush (2016-20)

Enjoyed an outstanding 2020 season averaging 22 minutes per game.

O’Neill played for the 2018 WBC winning Gold Rush team.

Played for the New Zealand silver medal winning team at the 2017 FIBA U17 Oceania Championships in Guam.

Played for the New Zealand at the 2018 FIBA U18 Asia Championships in Bangalore, India.

O’Neill is a NZ Touch Rugby representative.

Annabelle Ring

Height:
Born: September 29, 2003
Junior Association: Otago
High School: Kavanagh College

Previous NBL Clubs: Otago Gold Rush (2019)

Named to the Tournament Team at the 2021 Aon U19 National Championships.

Named MVP at the 2019 ‘A’ Secondary Schools National Championships after leading Kavanagh College to a Grand Final victory against Te Aroha College.

Also in 2019 named to the Tournament Team at the U17 National Championships.

Millie Simpson

Height: 171cm
Born: November 22, 2000
Junior Association: North Harbour
High School: Carmel College

Previous NBL Clubs: Otago Gold Rush, 2020

Debuted for the Gold Rush against Capital Swish, November 2020.

Studying at Otago University.

Stirling Walker-Pitman

Height: 164cm
Born: August 23, 1998
Junior Association: Waikato
High School: Hamilton Girls HS

Previous NBL Clubs: Waikato Wizards (2016)

Played for the Junior Tall Ferns in 2016 and also represented NZ at the 2017 3×3 Asia Cup in Mongolia.

Won a number of age-group tournaments playing for Waikato including the 2017 U23 National Championship.

Lisa Wallbutton

Height: 183cm
Born: January 14, 1986
Junior Association: North Harbour
High School: Westlake Girls High School

Previous NBL Clubs: Otago Gold Rush (2020), Harbour Breeze (2002-05), Auckland (2006)

Coaxed out of retirement for the 2020 NBL season Wallbutton enjoyed a strong campaign averaging 7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

The current Tall Ferns Manager had a distinguished playing career in the black singlet being one of just 9 players to play over 100 games for the senior national team. She was a key player at the 2008 Olympics averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds per game. Two years earlier she had played on the silver medal winning team at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

She played for the Christchurch Sirens in their only season in the Australian WNBL in 2008. Wallbutton then played a season in Belgium before enjoying a further six seasons in the WNBL with Adelaide, Bendigo and Perth.