Harbour Basketball wish to congratulate the three current players and one former player on their inclusion in the Tall Ferns squad announced on Friday.

 

Veteran guard Micaela Cocks headed to the University of Oregon for four years after her North Harbour school and rep days. She has spent the last six seasons playing for Townsville Fire in the Australian WNBL.

 

Cocks embarks on her ump-teenth international campaign whilst at the other end of the experience spectrum Georgia Agnew and Zara Jillings are about to make their Tall Ferns debuts.

 

The fourth Harbour player is Deena Franklin who, like Jillings and Agnew, is a member of the Harbour Breeze team currently competing in the Women’s Basketball Championship (WBC).

 

Agnew and Franklin, who also teamed up at the FIBA 3x3 World Cup in China last year, are the only New Zealand based players in the Tall Ferns squad.

 

Agnew, originally from the Waikato, attended Utah Valley University for four years but returned to New Zealand last year and is now studying physiotherapy at AUT.

 

Franklin has completely bucked the trend choosing not to go to America on a basketball scholarship or go to Australia to play for a State League or WNBL club.

 

Franklin first made the Tall Ferns in 2014 in her second year at Auckland University where she has completed a degree in Biotechnology and is now studying for her Masters.

 

Jillings, the youngest member of the squad, will cover for the unavailable Natalie Taylor for the William Jones Cup. At the conclusion of the tournament the 19 year old guard will head back to Fordham University for her Freshman season.

 

Both Jillings and Franklin are former Westlake Girls Highs School students.

 

The Tall Ferns head to Taiwan for the William Jones Cup and then on to Singapore before they compete at its firstFIBA Women’s Asia Cup tournament, which is the pinnacle event for the Tall Ferns in 2017.

 

The 2017 Asia Cup will be staged in Bangalore from 23 to 29 July. For the first time Australia and New Zealand will compete at the tournament alongside six Asian teams. New Zealand has been drawn in Pool A alongside perennial powerhouse China, Chinese Taipei and the DPR of Korea. The top four teams from the tournament will qualify for the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup.

 

Tall Ferns Squad:

Georgia Agnew –Harbour Breeze / NZL

Jessica Bygate – Melbourne Boomers/ Sandringham Sabres /AUS

Micaela Cocks – Townsville Fire/ Mackay Meteorettes /AUS

Toni Farnworth (nee Edmondson) Perth Lynx/ Perry Lakes Hawks /AUS

Deena Franklin – Harbour Breeze /NZL

Jillian Harmon – Le Mura Lucca /ITALY

Zara Jillings – Fordham University/ USA*

Rebecca Ott – Melbourne Boomers / AUS

Chevannah Palvaast – Townsville Fire/ Mackay Meteorettes /AUS

Kalani Purcell – Brisbane Spartans. Melbourne Boomers /AUS

Erin Rooney – Artego Bydgoszcz /POLAND

Josephine Stockill – Sunbury Jets /AUS

Natalie Taylor – Brisbane Spartans /AUS**

 

* Jillings only attending William Jones Cup

** Taylor attending Singapore and FIBA Asia Cup

 

Tall Ferns Programme:

 

William Jones Cup / 5-9 July / Taipei, Taiwan

Arrive Singapore /10 July

Singapore Series / 11-16 July / Singapore

Arrive in India /17 July / Bangalore, India

Preparation Camp / 18-22 July / Bangalore, India

FIBA Asia Women’s Cup (WC Qualifier) / 23-29 July, Bangalore, India

 

William Jones Cup – Competing Teams:

Japan, South Korea, India, Chinese Taipei, Chinese Taipei B