1950–60s: Beginnings Basketball arrived in
Melbourne in 1905, but the first major international women's tournament was the
1953 FIBA World Championships held in
Chile. Although the Opals did not qualify for the first tournament, they did, however, qualify for the
1957 Championships held in
Brazil.
Captained by
Lorraine Eiler, the Opals defeated
Cuba and
Peru. Sixteen year-old
Bronte Cockburn led the scoring for Australia with an average of 9.5 points per game, but the inexperienced team ultimately finished in 10th place. Since then, the Opals have helped increase the popularity of the sport in Australia. Australia would not get the opportunity to participate at the
1959 World Championship held in
Moscow because at the time, the
Australian Government would not allow the team to travel to the
USSR. The Opals would not qualify for a World Championship again until the
1967 contest in Czechoslovakia. With an entirely new team and a single victory over
Italy, Australia finished in 10th position for the second time. Team captain,
Jean Forster, led the scoring for Australia with an average of 21.2 points per game, with a tournament high of 34 against
Brazil. Her 21.2 points per game would remain unchallenged for 35 years.
1970s: Early development In
1971, the Opals travelled once again to Brazil. Led by new head coach Merv Harris, and featuring
Jill Hammond, the team made several improvements with only three players from the 1967 squad selected. In 1975, the team headed to
Colombia with another new head coach, Jim Madigan. Despite a 74–25 confidence building win over
Senegal, as well as victories over
Japan,
Brazil and
Hungary, the team finished in 10th place. The
1976 Olympics held in
Montreal marked the first Olympic medals awarded for women's basketball, but Opals did not qualify for the tournament. Their next major competition would be the
1979 World Championships in South Korea, which would prove to be their first taste of success. The coach again was Jim Madigan, and the squad featured some of the faces of the Opals for the next decade such as
Jenny Cheesman,
Robyn Maher,
Julie Nykiel,
Karin Maar and
Patricia Mickan. Australia would lose their next three games, but bounced back winning their final game over Japan to finish in fourth place, their best international result to that time.
1980s: Into the Olympics In the early days of
women's Olympic basketball, only six countries competed in the tournament, and the host country received an automatic entry. Therefore, there were 22 countries competing for the remaining five spots in
1980 Olympics held in
Moscow. In the preliminary tournament, the Opals fell to the
US and Hungary, and did not qualify for the Olympics. Three years later, the team traveled to Brazil for the
1983 World Championships, looking to demonstrate that their 1979 success was no accident. Despite an early victory over
Japan, Australia failed to advance and finished in 11th place. The Opals were not expected to participate at the
1984 Olympic Games held in
Los Angeles. However, following the decision by
Cuba to
boycott the games, the door was opened for the Opals to compete in their first ever Olympics. Led by head coach
Brendan Flynn, and
team captain Jenny Cheesman, the Opals played competitively in every game, but finished fifth out of the six teams. The next tournament for the Opals was the
1986 World Championships in Moscow. The first game against Hungary was a
two overtime thriller that the Opals lost 79–77. The game set the tone for the tournament, and despite some close finishes against the top rated teams, Australia finished in ninth place. The Opals then headed into the
1988 Seoul Olympics with a medal hope, but they lost the first game to host nation
Korea. The Opals bounced back and defeated
Bulgaria, meaning that only the powerful
Soviet Union stood between them and a semi-finals berth. In a major upset, the Opals defeated the USSR 60–48, setting up a meeting against
Yugoslavia. In a memorable game, the Opals lost a closely contested game at the buzzer 57–56, sending them to a rematch with the USSR for the
bronze medal. Motivated by the previous loss, the USSR came out determined and outplayed the Opals 68–53. Despite the loss, the fourth-place finish equalled the Opals’ previous best international placing.
1990s: Rise as an International force Building from their success at Seoul, the Opals headed to
Malaysia for the
1990 World Championships with high hopes. The team won their first two games against
Malaysia and Italy, before suffering a string of losses to
Bulgaria, the
Soviet Union,
Yugoslavia and
Czechoslovakia. Fifteen teams competed for the five open spots at the
1992 Barcelona Olympics, and despite a respectable 4–2 record at the preliminary tournament, the Opals did not qualify. Two years later, Australia played host to the
1994 FIBA World Championships. Led by
guard Shelley Sandie's 11.9 points per game, the team scored victories over
Japan,
Italy,
Slovakia and
Canada to set up a semi-finals match against
China. The Opals held an early lead, but China mounted a second half comeback led by
Haixia Zheng's 36 points, and Australia just lost by a single point 66–65. In the
bronze medal game, Australia played the
United States, and despite a small halftime lead, the Opals lost a close game 100–95. The loss however, resulted in a respectable fourth-place finish. The young 1994 team featured the backbone of Australian teams over the next decade;
Rachael Sporn,
Trisha Fallon,
Michelle Brogan,
Allison Tranquilli,
Sandy Brondello,
Annie La Fleur and
Jenny Whittle. At the 1994 tournament, the team also adopted the
Opals as its nickname. At the
1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, the Olympic tournament was expanded to twelve teams, making an easier path for Australia to qualify. In 1998, the Opals looked to build off the bronze medal at the
World Championships in Germany. The team featured 17-year-old future star
Lauren Jackson, and was led by
Michelle Brogan's average of 13.1 points per game. Australia put together a dominant performance, winning their first seven games before losing to
Russia 82–76 in a close semi-final match. In the bronze medal game,
Carla Boyd's 26 points proved too much for Brazil, and the Opals won 72–67 to earn their second
bronze medal in international play.
2000s: A decade of medals and World Champions With
Sydney hosting the
2000 Olympic Games, the Opals gained automatic entry into the tournament. Captained by
Michele Timms, the team started out with dominating performances winning all of their first seven games, sending them to their first ever gold medal match, against the
US. The American team proved too strong for the Opals however, as they won 76–54. Australia won the
Silver Medal, their best result in international competition at the time. In 2002, the Opals looked to continue their success in
China at the World Championships. Coached by Jan Stirling, captained by
Kristi Harrower, and powered by Lauren Jackson's 23.1 points per game (which led the tournament), Australia won its first five games all by double figures. In the second round the Opals lost to
Brazil, but bounced back with a 78–52 victory over
France in the quarterfinal. In the semi-finals, the Opals lost to eventual
gold medalist United States, but recovered the next day to capture the
bronze medal with a convincing 91–63 win over
South Korea. At the
2004 Olympics held in
Athens,
Greece, the Opals were led by Lauren Jackson's tournament best 22.9 points and 10 rebounds per game. With
Penny Taylor contributing with 14.8 points per game, Australia dominated early winning their first seven games, all by double digits. The Opals set up a rematch of the 2000 Olympic gold medal match against the US. The United States outlasted the Opals in the fourth quarter to win 74–63, giving the Opals their second straight Olympic silver medal. The Opals headed to
Brazil for the
2006 World Championships looking to win their sixth straight medal in international competitions. Led by Lauren Jackson's 21.3 points per game and
Penny Taylor's 18 points per game, first and third best in the tournament respectively, the Opals played their best tournament to date. They continued the trend by winning their next seven games decisively, with only one contest being decided by less than 10 points. In the
gold medal game against
Russia, the Opals led throughout, paced by Penny Taylor's 28 points and Lauren Jackson's 11 rebounds. At the final buzzer, the scoreboard read Australia 91, Russia 74; a convincing victory that delivered Australia's first ever basketball
gold medal. Penny Taylor was named the
Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The Opals had trouble hitting the basket and shot just 24% en route to a 92–65 defeat. The team earned their third straight Olympic silver medal, and their seventh straight international medal finish. The 2000s was a golden era for the Opals, winning at least a bronze medal at every official FIBA tournament.
2010s: Ushering a new era In 2010, the 16th edition of the
World Championship was held in the
Czech Republic. Pre-tournament favourites Australia, United States, and Russia, dominated play in the first two rounds. In the quarterfinals, however, Australia suffered a shock 79–68 loss to the Czech Republic. The loss meant that the Opals could not finish any higher than 5th place, its worst international result since the early 1990s. Looking to rebound from their disappointing 2010 result, the Opals qualified for the
2012 Olympic Games in
London by beating New Zealand three games to nil in the 2011
FIBA Oceania Championship. They finished the Olympic preliminary series with a 4 – 1 record, losing to
France in game 2, but after
Belinda Snell sank a well behind the
half-court line 3-point shot with less than one second on the clock to send the game into
overtime. Against
Russia,
Liz Cambage became the first woman in Olympic history to successfully
slam dunk a basketball. In the
quarterfinal against
China, Lauren Jackson became the Olympic Games record holder for points scored, overtaking
Brazilian legend
Janeth Arcain's tally of 535 points. The Opals accounted for China 75–60 to set up a
semi-final game with their long-time
rivals
United States. Despite holding a
half-time lead, the Opals again fell short losing 86–73. The Opals would however, win their fifth consecutive Olympic medal with an 83–74 win over Russia to claim the
bronze. Leading up to the
2014 World Championship in
Turkey, a number of long-serving players announced their
retirements or declared themselves unavailable. Those players included
Kristi Harrower,
Jenni Screen,
Kristen Veal,
Abby Bishop,
Kathleen MacLeod,
Samantha Richards,
Suzy Batkovic and
Jenna O'Hea. Three weeks before the start of the tournament,
Lauren Jackson withdrew from the team because of a knee injury. Two weeks later
Liz Cambage ruptured her
achilles tendon during a pre-tournament game and was ruled-out because of the injury. This resulted in the selection of seven debutants into the squad of 12, a move seen as ushering in a new era of Opals basketball. Despite the loss of veteran players, the Opals went through the preliminary rounds and quarter-final undefeated, setting up a semi-final clash with the US. In a hard-fought game, the Opals cut the lead from 16 points to just six early in the final quarter, before losing 82–70. The Opals would however claim their third bronze medal at world championships with a comfortable 74–44 win against host nation
Turkey.
Penny Taylor was named to the tournament All-Star Five. The Opals qualified for the
2016 Olympics in
Rio de Janeiro following a
series win against New Zealand in August 2015. On 31 March 2016, Lauren Jackson announced her retirement from basketball, citing a chronic knee injury as the reason for her decision. The Olympic squad was announced on 12 July 2016 and included seven Olympic debutants and only three players from the 2012 squad. Notable exclusions included three-time Olympic medallist
Suzy Batkovic, reigning
WNBL MVP Abby Bishop and
Rebecca Allen. Despite slow starts which had plagued Australia throughout the tournament, the Opals finished on top of their group with a 5–0 record, outscoring
Japan 33–15 in the final quarter to win by six points. In the Quarter-final, the Opals suffered a shock 73–71 loss to
Serbia, conceding 26
turnovers and eliminating them from medal contention. This ended a run of five successive Olympic medals dating back 20 years. One highlight was
Liz Cambage breaking Lauren Jackson's Australian Olympic record of points scored in a single game with 37 against Japan. It was the third-highest haul by a woman in Olympic history, and the highest in 28 years. Following the early exit from the Rio Olympics,
Brendan Joyce was replaced in April 2017 by former Opals player and
Phoenix Mercury head coach,
Sandy Brondello. Unlike previous years, the Opals qualified for the
2018 World Cup through the
FIBA Women's Asia Cup held in India where they won a silver medal.
Kelsey Griffin was named tournament
most valuable player. With basketball returning to the
Commonwealth Games for the first time since
2006, the Opals easily accounted for
England in the final winning the gold-medal game 99–55. At the
2018 World Cup held in Spain, the Opals led their group with a 3–0 record. They then defeated
China 83–42 in the quarter-final and
Spain 72–66 in the semi-final to set up a gold-medal final with their long-time rivals United States. The Opals lost the game 73–56 with head coach Sandy Brondello stating a lack of offence proved their downfall.
Liz Cambage led the tournament scoring with an average of 23.8 points per game and was named to the All-Star Five. ==Competitive record==