Gabrielle Richards (born 19 November 1984) is an Australian 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.

Career

WNBL

Richards began her WNBL career with the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

. She would then return to Victoria and play for the newest franchise, the

Bendigo Spirit The Bendigo Spirit are an Australian professional basketball team based in Bendigo, Victoria. The Spirit play in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Bendigo Stadium, Red Energy Arena. The team debuted in the ...

. During her time with the Spirit, Richards has won two WNBL Championships alongside the likes of

Kristi Harrower Kristi Harrower (born 4 March 1975) is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player. She was a decorated player with the Australian Opals, winning three silver medals and one bronze medal at four Summer Olympics. She played in ...

and Kelsey Griffin. Richards is also a two-time awardee to the

WNBL All-Star Five The All-WNBL Team is an annual Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) honour bestowed on the best performing players in the league following every WNBL season. From 1988 to 2018–19, the honour was known as the All-Star Five. As of 2020, it is ...

. Richards returned to the Spirit for her tenth season, after signing on for 2017–18.

National Team

Youth Level

Richards first represented Australia at the 2003 Under-21 World Championship in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

where Australia placed fifth. Playing alongside

Laura Hodges Laura Ann Hodges (née Summerton; born 13 December 1983) is an Australian female professional basketball player, having played in Australia's Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), Europe, and the WNBA. She currently plays for the Adelaide ...

, Jess Foley, Samantha Richards and Kelly Wilson.

Senior Level

Richards was a long standing squad member of 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 ...

, but was unable to make the final team for competition. At the 2014 FIBA World Championship,

Liz 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 ...

was ruled out from the squad due to injury. Therefore, Richards was awarded the call up and rounded out the Opals roster under head coach,

Brendan Joyce Brendan Joyce (born December 1960) is an Australian professional basketball coach. He has coached all levels of the game. He has been to 3 Olympic Games with both the Australian men's Boomers team 2004, 2008 and women's Opals team 2016 and 2 wor ...

. Richards took to the floor in five out of Australia's six matches, including the Bronze Medal match where Australia defeated tournament hosts, Turkey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Gabrielle 1984 births Living people Australian women's basketball players 21st-century Australian sportswomen Bendigo Spirit players Oregon Ducks women's basketball players Centers (basketball) Basketball players from Melbourne Sportswomen from Victoria (state) People educated at Assumption College, Kilmore