CHAMPIONS IGA Bendigo Lady Braves stalwart Andrea Wilson will rejoin sister Kelly in the SEABL line-up for the 2018 season.
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Wilson, who spent last season pursuing football with Bendigo Thunder and netball with Golden Square, makes a return to the club she has played with for 293 previous games.
Lady Braves coach Megan Moody said Wilson, a former 10-year player with WNBL club Bendigo Spirit, would add veteran leadership to the group.
Her signing was the first of two announced by the Lady Braves on Wednesday.
The reigning SEABL east conference champions have welcomed Eleanor Haring as assistant coach.
Wilson said she was excited to be playing with the Lady Braves following a 12-month break from basketball.
“With Gabe (Richards) and Kelly (Wilson) both committing to the team, plus the link with the Spirit players joining the roster, it certainly looks like we will have a competitive group heading into our first game against Diamond Valley in April” she said.
The Wilson sisters last played together for the Lady Braves in 2016, when they finished fourth in their conference under former coach Jonathan Goodman.
The siblings, however, partnered up on the netball court in 2017 in the BFNL.
Haring, a former Lady Braves player and team-mate of Wilson, brings a wealth of basketball experience to her assistant coaching
She attended the AIS in Canberra, played college basketball in the
United States at the University of Oregon and had a long career in the WNBL with both Perth and Bendigo.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to be involved with elite basketball again and when Megan spoke to me about becoming an assistant coach, I jumped at the chance,” she said.
“To be back with a team including Gabe, Kelly and Andrea who I played with at the Spirit is great.
First year SEABL coach Moody could not be happier with the club’s new additions.
“To have the basketball knowledge, experience and leadership that both Andrea and Eleanor will bring to our group this season is invaluable, especially given that in areas our squad is relatively young,” she said.
“So for the likes of Madi Sexton, Kara Tessari, Ahlise Hurst and Jessie Rennie to be able to learn from Andrea and Eleanor, both on the floor and on the bench, will advance their basketball education throughout the 2018 SEABL season.
In earlier signings, the Lady Braves added Spirit WNBL pair Nadeen Payne and Ash Karaitiana, and re-contracted conference championship winning guard Bianca Dufelmeier.
The Lady Braves start pre-season as an entire squad later this month, with parts of the team already working in small group sessions over the past fortnight.