Perth Lynx

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Perth Lynx
Perth Lynx logo
Leagues WNBL
Founded 1988
History Perth Breakers
1988; 1990–2001
Perth Lynx
2001–2010; 2015–present
West Coast Waves
2010–2015
Arena Bendat Basketball Centre
Arena Capacity 2,000
Location Perth, Western Australia
Team colors Black and red
         
Team manager Nick Marvin
Head coach Andy Stewart
Team captain Tessa Lavey
Ownership Jack Bendat
Championships 1 (1992)
Website PerthLynx.com

The Perth Lynx are an Australian women's professional basketball team in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). Based in Perth, Western Australia, the Lynx are the only team representing Western Australia in the WNBL.[1] The club was owned by Basketball Western Australia from 2001 to 2015 until Perth Wildcats chairman and owner Dr. Jack Bendat purchased the licence of the team in April 2015.[2][3]

History

Perth Breakers (1988–2001)

Originally formed as the Perth Breakers in 1988, the club was successful for many years under that moniker. The Breakers appeared in the WNBL finals from 1991 to 1996, winning a championship in 1992 under super coach Tom Maher. Australian basketball legends such as Robyn Maher, Tully Bevilaqua and Michele Timms played for the Breakers during this period. After missing the finals in 1997, the Breakers appeared in three more finals campaigns over the next three years.

Perth Lynx (2001–2010)

After a change of ownership in 2001, the Breakers were re-branded as the Perth Lynx. In the years up until 2010, the team did not see much success. Many years of mediocre performances towards the bottom of the ladder, which included setting a WNBL record for the longest ever losing streak, led the team to re-evaluate its operations. Regardless of the team's lack of on-court success, the Lynx were able to lure some star players to the program including Carly Wilson, Shelley Hammonds, Samantha Richards, Rohanee Cox and Deanna Smith.

West Coast Waves (2010–2015)

In 2010, David Herbert was appointed as head coach of the newly dubbed West Coast Waves. The administration of the program was largely focused on rebranding and developing the program in the off-season and the result was a new team name, uniforms and team colours in time for the 2010–11 WNBL season. Following the appointment of Herbert, home-grown player Tully Bevilaqua was also signed for the 2010–11 season. The 2010–11 season saw the team finish with a win/loss record of 8–14, its most successful season in over a decade.

In February 2012, New Zealander Kennedy Kereama was appointed the head coach of the West Coast Waves following limited team success under Herbert.[4] Kereama assembled a new look Waves line-up, bringing in interstate recruits Deanna Smith, Amelia Todhunter and Hayley Moffat as well as New Zealand representatives Lisa Wallbutton and Antonia Edmondson. Locals Natalie Burton and Darcee Garbin were also recruited to the team, joining returning players Melissa Marsh, Shani Amos, Kaye Tucker and Zoe Harper in the West Coast line-up. Despite its strongest recruiting effort in more than a decade, it went from bad to worse for the Waves as they finished bottom of the ladder for three consecutive seasons, all under Kereama.

New ownership (2015)

On 16 April 2015, Perth Wildcats chairman and owner Dr. Jack Bendat and his family purchased the licence of Western Australia's Women's National Basketball League franchise. The team was subsequently re-named the Perth Lynx in order to operate under Perth Wildcats management.[2] Three days later, former Perth Wildcats assistant coach Andy Stewart was named the head coach of the Lynx for the 2015–16 season.[5]

Return of the Lynx (2015–present)

The club made early big name signings in Natalie Burton, Louella Tomlinson and Sami Whitcomb before going really local with two SEABL wing player signings in Izzy Chilcott and Klara Wischer, and 2014 WNBA draft selection Carley Mijović.[6] The club's seventh signing for the 2015–16 season came in returning college player Stacey Barr, a 172 cm guard from Werribee, Victoria who played four years of college basketball for the University of Idaho.[7] Next came the signing of Opals' guard Tessa Lavey[8] and the second import spot, which was filled by WNBA player Betnijah Laney. Laney played college basketball for Rutgers University and was selected by the Chicago Sky with the 17th overall pick in the 2015 WNBA draft.[9] The team's final roster spot was filled by New Zealander Toni Edmondson, a veteran in the WNBL who played for the WSBL's Joondalup Wolves in 2015.[10]

On 1 October, the day of the Lynx season launch, Tessa Lavey was named the inaugural captain of the new-look franchise.[11] In their season opener against the Sydney Uni Flames at the WA Basketball Centre, the Lynx fought hard to grind out an 81–70 win with Sami Whitcomb and Louella Tomlinson leading the way, scoring 18 and 17 points respectively.[12] Throughout the season, Andy Stewart was named WNBL Coach of the Month for November,[13] Betnijah Laney was named WNBL Player of the Month for January,[14] and Sami Whitcomb earned an equal league-high eight Team of the Week nominations.[15] The Lynx finished the 2015–16 regular season in second place with a 16–8 win/loss record, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2000,[16] and advancing through to the grand final for the first since 1999.[17] In the best-of-three Grand Final series, the Lynx were outclassed by the defending champion Townsville Fire, losing the series 2–0.

Season-by-season records

Season Standings Regular season Finals Head coach
W L PCT
Perth Breakers
1988 9th 6 16 27 Did not qualify Dave Hancock
1989
1990 8th 10 14 42 Did not qualify Don Sheppard
1991 3rd 15 7 68 Won Semi Final (North Adelaide, 82–72)
Lost Preliminary Final (Hobart, 74–61)		 Don Sheppard
1992 1st 17 3 85 Won Semi Final (Melbourne, 54–52)
Won Grand Final (Dandenong, 58–54)		 Tom Maher
1993 3rd 12 6 67 Won Semi Final (Dandenong, 83–68)
Won Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 68–66)
Lost Grand Final (Sydney, 65–64)		 Guy Molloy
1994 4th 12 6 67 Won Semi Final (Sydney, 62–58)
Lost Preliminary Final (Melbourne, 74–64)		 Guy Molloy
1995 4th 12 6 67 Lost Semi Final (Melbourne, 60–39) Guy Molloy
1996 4th 11 7 61 Won Qualifying Final (Brisbane, 95–62)
Won Semi Final (Bulleen, 75–58)
Lost Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 87–55)		 Guy Molloy
1997 8th 5 13 28 Did not qualify Murray Treseder
1998 3rd 8 4 67 Lost Semi Final (AIS, 84–70) Murray Treseder
1998–99 2nd 14 7 67 Lost Semi Final (AIS, 81–62)
Won Preliminary Final (Adelaide, 67–46)
Lost Grand Final (AIS, 88–79)		 Murray Treseder
1999–00 4th 11 10 52 Lost Semi Final (Bulleen, 61–60) Murray Treseder
2000–01 7th 4 17 19 Did not qualify James Crawford
Perth Lynx
2001–02 7th 4 17 19 Did not qualify Rick Morcom
2002–03 7th 6 15 29 Did not qualify Rick Morcom
2003–04 8th 0 21 0 Did not qualify Murray Treseder
2004–05 8th 1 20 5 Did not qualify Craig Friday
2005–06 7th 4 17 20 Did not qualify Paul O'Brien
2006–07 7th 3 18 14 Did not qualify Paul O'Brien
2007–08 10th 5 19 21 Did not qualify Joe McKay
2008–09 9th 4 18 18 Did not qualify Joe McKay
2009–10 9th 2 20 9 Did not qualify Joe McKay / Vlad Alava
West Coast Waves
2010–11 8th 8 14 36 Did not qualify David Herbert
2011–12 9th 2 20 9 Did not qualify David Herbert
2012–13 9th 4 20 17 Did not qualify Kennedy Kereama
2013–14 9th 1 23 4 Did not qualify Kennedy Kereama
2014–15 8th 4 18 18 Did not qualify Kennedy Kereama
Perth Lynx
2015–16 2nd 16 8 67 Won Semi Final (Townsville, 91–72)
Lost Grand Final (Townsville, 0–2)		 Andy Stewart
Regular season 201 382 34 1 Minor Premiership
Finals 10 11 48 1 WNBL Championship

Source: Year By Year

Current roster

Perth Lynx roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht.
G 3 New Zealand Edmondson, Antonia 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
G 5 Australia Lavey, Tessa (C) 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
F/C 10 Australia Burton, Natalie 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
F 11 Australia Mijović, Carley 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
G/F 32 United States Whitcomb, Sami (I) 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Australia Ryan Petrik
  • Australia Tom Knowles
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Development player
  • (I) Import player
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Updated: 27 May 2016

References

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  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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