Going global: Nyadiew Puoch reflects on Nike Hoop Summit trip

The emerging standout WNBL rookie made new friends and won new admirers when she took on Team USA.

“You rarely get opportunities to play in a team full of girls from all over the globe,” Nyadiew Puoch tells The Pick and Roll about her recent trip to the US to play in the Nike Hoop Summit. “It was amazing. I never thought I’d get to do that.”

The 18 year old was selected for the event after a stellar debut season for the Southside Flyers, where she was nominated for both the Sixth Woman of the Year and the Betty Watson Breakout Player of the Year awards.

The game, played in Portland, Oregon, was the inaugural women’s event in the Nike Hoop Summit. It brought together some of the best junior talent from all around the world to play a Team USA outfit stacked with elite college-bound players, including LSU recruit Mikaylah Williams and Notre Dame commit Hannah Hidalgo.

Team USA pulled away in the fourth quarter for a comfortable 100-79 win but Puoch played a starring role for the visitors, putting up 16 points and four rejections, including a spectacular chasedown block on Williams.