The Lady Bandits have signed a second ‘inside’ US import as they look to counter the spate of big Australian girls.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Kristi Mokube is a 188-centimetre forward-centre, who represented George Mason University in Virginia, but is currently playing in Greece.
“She’s defensively an inside player, which is what we desperately wanted the last couple of seasons,” Lady Bandits’ coach Jim Wilson said.
“With the signing of Emilee Harmon (189cm), plus Kristi, we’ve addressed that now.”
The Lady Bandits had both an inside and outside import last year.
Toccara Ross was the latter, meaning if club MVP Adjat Adams hit foul trouble, was injured or needed a rest, the team was extremely small.
“We’ll be a bit stronger and bigger defensively inside,” Wilson said.
“There’s a number of really big Australian girls running around and are all six-foot three (190cm), six-foot four (193), even six-foot six (198), so we’ve got to find someone to compete with that.
“We’re hoping the athleticism of Emilee and Kristi will counteract the size of those girls.”
Boom youngster Eziyoda Magbegor (Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence) and Dandenong’s Lauren Scherf are among the batch of 190cm-pls SEABL players.
There’s a number of really big Australian girls running around and are all six-foot three (190cm), six-foot four (193) even six-foot six (198), so we’ve got to find someone to compete.
- Jim Wilson
The Lady Bandits have improved in Wilson’s first two years, jumping to four wins last season, and this year’s outfit will now carry different attributes.
“This is probably our strongest team for interior defence and interior offence and I think it probably complements our local players more than in the past,” he said.
And Wilson maintains the overseas duo will also provide the grit some spectators might miss.
“The thing I’m looking forward to with Kristi is she has a willingness to dive on the floor for loose balls and she has a willingness to compete in every single contest,” Wilson said.
“We know Emilee already provides that as well, we’re hoping the little one percenters will get us over the line.”
Apart from last year’s imports, the only other loss is youngster Steph Gorman, who will play in Melbourne prior to starting US uni.
Former captain Molly Rice, who spent almost a decade in the WNBL, and Megan Quinn will both return after giving birth.
The squad looks stronger but when you’re coming off only seven wins in two years, Wilson knows you can’t get too excited, although the club has slashed the 30-plus point hidings.
“We’ve been able to get those margins back to 10 points,” he said.
“We’ll now be working on making sure we get those 10-point margins down to five points.”
