Donna Wilkins (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Loffhagen; born 29 April 1978 in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand) is a New Zealand representative in

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

and

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 ...

. She married Southland farmer Mike Wilkins on 16 March 2007. Wilkins returned to the

Southern Steel Southern Steel may refer to: * Southern Steel (netball) Southern Steel are a netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 ANZ Championship season, 2008 and 2016 ANZ Championship season, 2016, they played ...

for the 2012 season, after a short stint with the

Canterbury Tactix Mainland Tactix are a New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, Canterbury. Between 1998 and 2007, as Canterbury Flames, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Champions ...

in 2011.

Netball

Wilkins has represented the New Zealand

Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns ( or ), represent Netball New Zealand in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Taini Jamison Trophy, the Constell ...

56 times, making her 50th cap against Barbados in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand. The 1.85 cm, Goal Attack and Goal Shoot, started her career for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

in the National Championships in 1994 as a cool sixteen-year-old. She carried on playing for the province until called into the Silver Ferns in 1996. After four years playing top netball in Canterbury, Donna Wilkins signed with the Southland netball team for the 1997 season along with fellow Silver Ferns captain

Bernice Mene Bernice Papasina Mene (born 18 January 1975) is a former New Zealand netball international. Between 1992 and 2001, Mene made 76 senior appearances for New Zealand. She represented New Zealand at the 1993 World Games, the 1998 Commonwealth Gam ...

. She shot the southerners into fourth place overall in the championships, a much improved performance of 10th the year before. After Netball New Zealand announced plans for a new semi-professional franchise competition for 1998 season to replace the old provincial champs, the new

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

based franchise the

Southern Sting Southern Sting are a former New Zealand netball team that were based in Invercargill. Between 1998 and 2007, Sting played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. They were the league's most successful team. They played in all ten grand ...

retained Wilkins services along with Bernice Mene for the season. During the season Wilkins had scored 38 out of 51 goals against

Otago Rebels Otago Rebels are a former New Zealand netball team that were based in Dunedin. Between 1998 and 2007, Rebels played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Rebels played in two grand finals. In 1998 they were the league's inaugural cham ...

but eventually lost the championship 57 to 51. She continued to play in the South for the Southern Sting till 2006, when she was called into the Suns basketball team in the American WNBA basketball competition. She returned for the Stings semi final and final game during which she led them to win the semi-final game 64–41 against the

Northern Force Northern Force are a former New Zealand netball team based on the North Shore, Auckland Region. As a result, they were also known as either North Harbour Force or North Shore Force. Between 1998 and 2007, Force played in the Coca-Cola Cup/Na ...

along with the final winning over

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton. The team were formed in 1998, following the merger of Waikato Wildcats and Bay of Plenty Magic. In 1997, Wildcats and Magic had been founder members of the Coca-Col ...

in the 2007

National Bank Cup The National Bank Cup, originally known as the Coca-Cola Cup, was the top level national Netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball league between 1998 in New Zealand, 1998 and 2007 in New Zealand, 2007. The league was organised by Netball Ne ...

with a score of 48–46. The Sting won seven out of the ten National Bank Cup titles, being named as one of the world's best sporting teams. Other big names to play for the franchise include:

Tania Dalton Tania Mary Dalton (née Nicholson; 26 November 1971 – 1 March 2017) was a New Zealand international netball player. After retiring from playing professionally, she worked as a netball commentator on SKY Sports for international tests, the ANZ ...

Megan Hutton Megan Hutton (born 26 March 1976 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a New Zealand retired netball player. Hutton normally plays in the goal keeper position. She also played basketball for Southland. Hutton debuted in the Coca-Cola Cup (later the ...

Belinda Colling Belinda Louise Colling (born 12 September 1975) is a former New Zealand netball international. Between 1996 and 2006, she made 92 senior appearances for New Zealand. She captained New Zealand at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the 1999 World ...

Leana de Bruin Leana de Bruin (née du Plooy) (born 9 July 1977) is a South African and New Zealand international netball player. De Bruin played 34 tests for South Africa before moving to New Zealand in 2000. She made her on-court debut for the Silver Ferns i ...

Liana Leota Liana Leota (née Barrett-Chase; born 31 October 1984) is a New Zealand netball player. She is a member of the national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and plays for Severn Stars in the British Netball Superleague. Leota was a member of the Sou ...

Adine Wilson Adine Rachel Wilson (née Harper; born 8 June 1979) is a former New Zealand netball international and current commentator. Between 1999 and 2007, Wilson made 79 senior appearances for New Zealand. She represented New Zealand at the 1999 and t ...

, Lesley Rumball, Naomi Siddall,

Wendy Frew Wendy Frew (born 15 October 1984), previously known as Wendy Telfer, is a former List of New Zealand international netball players, New Zealand netball international. During the National Bank Cup era, she played for Southern Sting. During the A ...

, Erika Burgess,

Daneka Wipiiti Daneka Wipiiti (born 8 December 1982 in Hamilton, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand international netball player who played for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and the Southern Steel in the ANZ Championship. Wipiiti ...

and

Natalie Avellino Natalie Avellino (born 15 December 1970) is a former Australian netball international and current netball coach. Between 1994 and 2006 she made 20 senior appearances for Australia. Avellino was a member of the Australia teams that won the gol ...

. In 2008 a new trans-Tasman semi-professional league was launched, the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

. Wilkins did not play in the first season due to pregnancy, but continued with the

as an assistant coach. She returned to the playing lineup for the 2009 season, where the Steel improved on their 2008 standing to reach the finals stage; the Steel were eventually defeated by the

Adelaide Thunderbirds Adelaide Thunderbirds are an netball in Australia, Australian professional netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Since 2017 Suncorp Super Netball season, 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 ANZ Championship s ...

in the semi-finals. Later that month, Wilkins announced that she would not be returning to the Steel in 2010. Wilkins turned out for the

in 2011, and for the next season returned to Southern Steel which she did with family help. As a member of the

New Zealand national netball team The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns ( or ), represent Netball New Zealand in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Netball at the Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth Games, the ...

, Loffhagen won two

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

silver medals, at Kuala Lumpur in 1998 and Manchester in 2002.

Basketball

Wilkins formerly played for Canterbury in the NZ Women's Basketball League. In Australia, she played three seasons in the WNBL. In the

2004–05 WNBL season The 2004–05 WNBL season was the 25th season of competition since its establishment in 1981. A total of 8 teams contested the league. Broadcast rights were held by free-to-air network ABC. ABC broadcast one game a week, at 1:00 p.m. at ever ...

, she played for the

Canberra Capitals The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberr ...

and was the league's leading rebounder. In 2006, she signed for the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Sun compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team i ...

s in the US WNBA and was waived after a six-week trial. After being cut by the Suns, she returned for her second season with the Canberra Capitals in the

2006–07 WNBL season The 2006–07 WNBL season was the 27th season of competition since its establishment in 1981. A total of 8 teams contested the league. The regular season was played between October 2006 and March 2007, followed by a post-season involving the top f ...

, and played a key role in helping Canberra win the 2007 WNBL Grand Final. After playing with the Canberra Capitals, she ended her basketball career playing in 2007–08 on the

Christchurch Sirens The Christchurch Sirens are a defunct New Zealand professional basketball team based in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Sirens competed for the 2007–08 season in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and folded after one season due to f ...

for their only season in the WNBL. Wilkins earned a

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

award in the Sirens' first WNBL win, a 76–55 victory against

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 ...

. As of 2006, Wilkins had 95 caps for the Tall Ferns, the

New Zealand women's national basketball team The New Zealand women's national basketball team represents New Zealand in international Women's basketball, basketball competitions. They are nicknamed the Tall Ferns. The team has been coached by Guy Molloy since 2018. The New Zealand women' ...

, including the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

in Sydney, the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in Athens (where she was the tournament's leading rebounder with 10.6 rebounds per game), and the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

in Melbourne (where she captained the Tall Ferns to a silver medal behind gold medalists Australia).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Donna 1978 births Living people New Zealand netball players New Zealand international netball players 1999 World Netball Championships players Commonwealth Games silver medallists in netball Commonwealth Games silver medallists in basketball Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Netball players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games New Zealand women's basketball players 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen Expatriate basketball people in Australia Olympic basketball players for New Zealand Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Southern Steel players Mainland Tactix players ANZ Championship players Canberra Capitals players Netball players from Christchurch Basketball players from Christchurch People educated at Rangiora High School Southern Steel coaches Central Pulse players Southern Sting players Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games