Aussies shining in 2024/25 NCAA women's basketball
The 2024/25 NCAA women’s basketball season is underway and it’s fair to say Australians are making waves.
The 2024/25 college basketball season is in full swing and there’s no shortage of Aussie women making names for themselves in the States. With a plethora of players spread across the USA, some are finding their feet at new homes, others are getting their first taste of college basketball, while some have returned to familiar places and continue to build.
With that in mind, let’s take stock of the Aussies putting in work in NCAA women’s basketball.
Kitty Henderson (Columbia)
Photo credit: Columbia University Athletics
Kitty Henderson is setting herself up as one of the best to ever do it at Columbia. This week she moved up to top 10 in points, assists and steals in program history and was named Ivy League Player of the Week.
Such a versatile player, Henderson is carrying a huge load for the Lions, averaging 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. In a tight win over Ball State late last month, Henderson scored a season high 24 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
You’ll want to keep an eye on Henderson as the season progresses and the senior keeps rising up Columbia’s all-time leaderboards.
Tess Heal (Stanford)
After two great seasons with Santa Clara, Tess Heal transferred to Stanford this season and while her minutes and production are down, she’s finding her feet well and making the most of her playing time. In reduced minutes, Heal has shown what she can do - just as we’ve all witnessed for the past couple of years with the Broncos – and I get the feeling her minutes will continue to rise as the season progresses.
In her last three outings, she’s scored in double figures and shot the ball well from deep, hitting 5/8 from beyond the arc over that stretch.
Summah Hanson (UC Irvine)
Hanson made a name for herself at Sacramento State last season with great production and development, and is doing the same at UC Irvine this season. Much like Heal, in a new environment and higher level of competition, her minutes are down, but Hanson’s production is still really healthy, averaging 13.4 points, 6.9 rebounds per game.
She’s already proving herself to her new teammates and coaching staff and she played a season-high 30 minutes last outing against Denver, which saw her finish with a near double-double of 19 points and 9 rebounds. She also boasts a 20-10 game, which she recorded in an overtime win against Pennsylvania in just 22 minutes of game time!
She’s got a massive future ahead and I can’t wait to see how her game transforms over the season at UC Irvine.
Georgia Amoore, Amelia Hassett (Kentucky)
Georgia Amoore is projected to be a first round selection in the 2025 WNBA Draft and she’s done her draft no harm at all with her impressive start to life as a Wildcat. One of the most high-profile transfers over the off-season, Amoore followed coach Kenny Brooks from Virginia Tech to Kentucky and they their season undefeated, winning their first seven games.
Amoore is averaging 15 points and 8.3 assists (2nd best in the nation) per game and is doing so with unparalleled consistency as she’s dished out at least seven assists in every game so far this season. Importantly, she’s also kept her turnovers in check for the most part (except for an eight-turnover game against Louisville, which she still starred in with 19 points and 9 assists), with just two games of 2+ turnovers. Her speed and energy is infectious and she’s continuing to get better with every outing and I get the feeling the WNBA team that drafts her is going to be very happy.
It would be remiss to not mention Amelia Hassett when talking about Kentucky’s success so far this season. A junior in her first season with the Wildcats, she has blossomed into an important piece of the puzzle, starting all seven games and averaging a near double-double of 8 points and 10 rebounds per game. She has a real presence inside and is only going to improve as she gets more comfortable at the level.
Her season-high 16-rebound effort against Northern Kentucky was a highlight.
Lulu Twidale (California)
In her second season with the Golden Bears, Lulu Twidale has taken her game to a new level and would have strong claims to being among the most improved players in the country. After averaging six points in her freshman season, she’s more than tripled that in 2024/25 to 18.5 per game.
It’s all to do with her incredible three-point shooting, hitting a ridiculous 48% of shots from deep on almost 8 attempts per game. Twidale has been an absolute flamethrower for the 7-1 California team and she’s hit at least three triples in every game!
Mia Jacobs (Fresno State)
Mia Jacobs is another player that just keeps getting better. After a terrific debut season with Fresno State last year, she’s building on that in her second season with the Bulldogs.
Averaging a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds, she scored a season-high 31 points, 14 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 assists in an overtime win against UT Martin earlier this week.
Georgia Woolley and Sophie Burrows (Syracuse)
It’s been a rollercoaster start to the season for the 4-4 Orange, but Georgia Woolley continues to prove herself as a bonafide offensive weapon, averaging a career-high 16 points per game. In her fourth year of college, and third at Syracuse, she’s also putting up career-best numbers in assists (3.6 per game) and three-point shooting percentage (40%), up from 29% last season.
Sophie Burrows is in her second season with Syracuse and has taken on a much larger role this season. After starting four games last season, she’s already doubled that number by starting all eight games so far. With that added playing time, she’s averaging career-highs across the board (10 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game). In a dominant win over Missouri, Burrows scored a season-best 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Charlise Dunn, Katie Donovan, Issy Morgan (Davidson)
How good is it to see Charlise Dunn back on court!? Dunn was having a terrific season before tearing her ACL in February, and has made a speedy return to be back in action just a couple of games into the season. She’s quickly rediscovering her groove and played a season-high 27 minutes last game against Belmont and provided a huge boost with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals.
It's not just Dunn starting either, there are three Aussies in the Davidson starting line-up, with Katie Donovan and Issy Morgan having large roles too, starting all eight games. Donovan is playing over 30 minutes per game and averaging 8.8 points and 5.6 rebounds, while Morgan is doing a bit of everything with 7.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
Olivia Pollerd, Hannah Rapp, Alana Goodchild (Santa Clara)
Santa Clara have had a great connection with Aussies in recent years, highlighted by Tess Heal starring the last couple of seasons, and Olivia Pollerd is continuing that in her third year with the Broncos. Averaging a career-high in points (17.5), highlighted by her 31-point (6/9 3PT FG) outing against Mia Jacobs and Fresno State in the win, Pollerd’s improvement season on season throughout her four-year college career has been incredible to watch.
Hannah Rapp and Alana Goodchild both transferred to Santa Clara over the off-season and are playing limited minutes for the Broncos.
Kelsey Rees (Oregon State)
In her fifth year of college, and second season with Oregon State, Rees is a big presence inside. Her minutes have risen this season (28 per game) and she’s doing plenty with the added responsibility, averaging 10.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game for the Beavers. With a couple of wins in a row, Rees has tallied 25 points and 20 rebounds across the two wins.
Chloe Hodges (Drexel)
Hodges is in her fourth year with Drexel and the story of her season is the amount of threes she’s taking, and making! After attempting only 19 triples for the entire 2023/24 season, she’s already taken 18 this season and has hit at a very impressive 39% of them. Adding this three-point shooting proficiency to her arsenal has made her a much larger part of Drexel’s offensive schemes.
She scored a season-high 20 points in a tough overtime loss to Penn State late last month, while also adding 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals.
Sara-Rose Smith (Colorado)
In her fifth year of college, and second season with Colorado, Sara-Rose Smith has taken on a much larger role this season and is certainly making the most of it, averaging a career-high 7.5 points per game, while shooting a very healthy 46.7% from deep. The Buffaloes are off to a great start at 7-2, and Smith was dominant in a late November win over Utah Tech where she poured in 21 points (4/5 3PT FG) and 10 rebounds.
Sharna Ayres (Northwestern State)
Sharna Ayres has been a vital piece of Northwestern State’s puzzle for a while now and in her fifth year of college, the high-volume three-point shooter is averaging 11 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. While her long range shot isn’t falling at a great rate (29.6%), she has hit 41% (7/17) of shots from beyond the arc in her last two games.
Dyani Ananiev and Emma Strelein (Portland)
The Portland Pilots are flying at 8-0 and have an array of familiar names to those down under with two Australians (Dyani Ananiev and Emma Strelein) and three New Zealanders (Florence Dallow, Melika Samia and Emme Shearer) on the roster.
Ananiev is coming off the bench in her sophomore season and playing key minutes for the Pilots. In 20 minutes per game, Ananiev is averaging 9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game.
Shearer is the offensive engine for the Pilots, leading the team in scoring with 17 points per game and she scored a season-high 26 points against Nevada earlier this week.
Antoinette Emma-Nnopu (Weber State)
After transferring from UNC Greensboro to Weber State over the off-season, Antoinette Emma-Nnopu has been playing consistent minutes for the Wildcats and produced her best game of the season just a couple of days ago when she delivered a 20-10 game.
Despite a hard-fought 73-69 loss against North Dakota, Emma-Nnopu was a shining light and showcased the type of player she could become for Weber State as the season progresses.
Lily Carmody (Butler)
Freshman Lily Carmody has made an immediate impact at Butler and the 7-2 Bulldogs are off to a strong start this season.
In just her second game of college basketball, Carmody was a force as Butler scored an overtime win, 79-70, against Milwaukee. She scored 20 points (64% FG), 4 rebounds and 4 steals, and is averaging 8.7 points per game. Carmody is a player to watch as her college career really kicks into gear.