Bengaluru: If the Australian women’s squad has a new sheen to it, it’s because the Opals have retained only four players from their Rio 2016 Olympic campaign for the ongoing FIBA Asia Cup. The rest of the squad is filled with relative inexperience, but it isn’t a deterrent, as the likes of Kelsey Griffin have shown in the opening stages.
With a match-winning 15 points on debut against Korea in Game 1, the power forward has emerged as a key figure in this new-look side. The 30-year-old, who only recently gained Australian citizenship in November 2015, played a leading role in the final group game against Japan with nine rebounds and 16 points.
The Alaska-born, Griffin played for the Connecticut Suns in the WNBA before joining current team Bendigo Spirit in Australia’s WNBL in 2012. And she’s stayed there ever since.
“I came to Australia six years ago and upon being there for two days I realised this feels more like home than anywhere else I have ever been. That really started my transition to becoming an Australian citizen. Now, it’s such an amazing honour to put on the green and gold jersey and represent them in basketball,” the 6”2’ hoopster said after the win over Japan.
It’s also Down Under where Griffin met her partner Erin, who represented the Australian women’s volleyball team for 12 years. The countryside has left its mark on Griffin, as she contemplates a return to the US. “I have the option of going back to WNBA, but I want to give back to the community (in Bendigo). WNBA - with the right team and coach, I’ll consider,” she summed up.
