Masked Avenger: Inside Miela Goodchild's breakout season

The former Blue Devils standout has caught the eye with some sweet shooting displays for surprise packets Perth Lynx.

Image Credit: Will Russell / Getty Images

After suffering not one but two painful breaks to her nose early this WNBL season, Miela Goodchild has had to take the court in a face mask. The eye-catching headgear, like something a movie superhero may sport, hasn’t slowed her down as she’s made the most of her increased minutes and enjoyed a breakout season, averaging 10.3 points per game and ranking in the league’s top ten for field goal percentage (43.5%) and three-point percentage (37.8%) going into Perth’s round eight clash with the Southside Flyers.

While she was initially concerned the mask would hamper her vision, Goodchild has become accustomed to it. “It makes life different, but it keeps you protected, and is a bit of fun. It’s definitely super close to my face, but it’s not too bad,” the 23 year old explains. She is now almost enjoying playing with it. “Plus, ‘Masked Miela’ really has a ring to it,” she laughs.

As well as posting her best scoring numbers to date, Goodchild has made leaps and bounds as an all-round player and has almost as many assists (17) through eight rounds as she had all last season (19), and has improved her turnover-to-assist ratio. She’s also more than doubled her steal tally (11) from the 22/23 season, where she finished with five steals.