Tayla Roberts (born 16 February 1993) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

professional basketball boomerang.

Professional career

WNBL

Roberts began her professional career in 2009, for 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 later to go on to receive the

WNBL Rookie of the Year Award The WNBL Breakout Player of the Year (formerly the WNBL Youth Player of the Year Award) is an annual Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) award given since the 1988 WNBL season. The award is named the Betty Watson Breakout Player of the Ye ...

. Roberts has spent time with a range of WNBL teams in her young career. After the AIS, Roberts was signed by the then defending champions,

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 ...

. She then had a one-season stint with the

Sydney Uni Flames The Sydney Flames are an Australian professional basketball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Flames compete in the Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketba ...

. After a one-year absence, she then signed with the defending champions in 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 ...

. For the 2015–16 season, she returned to Victoria, with the rebranded

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 ...

National team

Youth level

Roberts had an extremely successful and influential youth career for the Australian national team. Roberts made her international debut at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship in

Brisbane, Australia Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, where she took home Gold and secured Australia's place at the inaugural Under-17 World Championship the following year. Roberts would go on to represent Australia at the

FIBA World Championship The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's global governing body. It takes place every four ye ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

where Australia placed seventh. At this tournament Roberts averaged 16.1 points per game. She then transitioned to represent the Gems at the

2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship The 2011 FIBA Under-19 World Championship (Latvian: 2011. gada FIBA pasaules čempionāts līdz 19 gadu vecumam) was the 10th edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship, the biennial international men's youth basketball championship contested b ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. At this tournament she was the highest scorer in any single game, scoring 41 points against Japan. Despite averaging 15.9 points per game on a strong Australian team, the team narrowly missed out on bronze, placing fourth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Tayla 1993 births Living people Australian women's basketball players 21st-century Australian sportswomen Sportswomen from Tasmania Australian Institute of Sport basketball (WNBL) players Forwards (basketball)