Alice Kunek (born 6 January 1991) is an Australian-Irish professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for

Southside Flyers The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship pur ...

, the current champions of the WNBL.

Professional career

WNBL

Kunek began her WNBL career at the AIS alongside fellow up and coming players. She spent three seasons at the AIS, before moving signing with the

Bulleen Boomers Geelong United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Geelong, Victoria. United compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Geelong Arena. Beginning as the Bulleen Boomers in 1984, the ...

, where she played for three seasons. In her first season with the Boomers, she helped them take home their inaugural WNBL Championship, averaging 9.9 points per game. In 2013, Kunek left the Boomers and signed with the

Dandenong Rangers The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship pur ...

. In her first season with the Rangers, Kunek averaged a career high 15.9 points per game. After two seasons with the Rangers, she returned to the

Melbourne Boomers Geelong United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Geelong, Victoria. United compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Geelong Arena. Beginning as the Bulleen Boomers in 1984, the ...

. Kunek was named captain of the

ahead of the 2016–17 season. On 16 May 2017, Kunek signed with the

Perth Lynx The Perth Lynx are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at both WA Basketball Centre, Bendat Basketball Centre ...

for the 2017–18 WNBL season. On 8 November 2017, Kunek was named to the WNBL Team of the Week, after scoring 25 points, including five three-pointers, in her team's victory over the Townsville Fire. On 29 December 2017, Kunek played her 200th career WNBL game.

Overseas

At the conclusion of the 2016/17 WNBL season, she joined French side Lyon Basket féminine for the remainder of their season. Kunek played 10 games with Lyon, averaging 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds, and helped her side avoid relegation. On 17 January 2018, Kunek signed as an injury replacement for French side

Tarbes Gespe Bigorre Tarbes Gespe Bigorre (often called Tarbes GB or TGB) is a French women's basketball club, taking part to the professional French league for women, the LFB, and to European Cups (now EuroLeague Women). It is the most important club sport in the t ...

National team

Kunek was a member of the Gems. She was then named to the Gems squad and helped them take home the Gold at the Oceania Under-18 Championship and qualify for the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

the following year in Thailand. Playing alongside,

Elizabeth Cambage Elizabeth Folake "Liz" Cambage ( ; born 18 August 1991) is a British-born Australian professional basketball player for the Sichuan Yuanda of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association. She won the Women's National Basketball League in 2011 and ...

, the team placed fifth. In 2015, Kunek was named to the

Opals Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...

side for the

2015 FIBA Oceania Women's Championship The 2015 FIBA Oceania Championship for Women was the 16th edition of the FIBA Oceania Championship for Women. Held in August 2015, it took the form of a two-game series between the Australia women's national basketball team, Australian Opals and ...

. She was once again named to the Opals squad, in the lead up to the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. However, as the squad was dropped down to 17 members, Kunek was cut from the Olympic squad. Kunek joined the Opals side ahead of the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, where Australia took home Silver. In December 2017, Kunek was named to the Opals training camp squad ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Personal life

Kunek is currently studying a Master of International Business at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

References