Shaneice Swain’s journey from Cairns to be selected by Los Angeles Sparks at the WNBA Draft

At 18 years of age indigenous guard Shaneice Swain played five games for the University of Canberra Capitals late in the 2021/22 Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) season. After playing less than 45 minutes court-time throughout the 2021/22 season Swain had a breakout 2022/23 Cygnett WNBL season playing 18 games for the UC Capitals including 13 as a starter. In 2022/23 Swain ranked fourth in the WNBL for steals per game and in the top 15 for three-pointers made, field goals made and points per game.

Shaneice Swain playing for UC Capitals against the Deakin Melbourne Boomers at Melbourne Sports Centres Parkville on 20 November 2022

Impressive performances by Swain as a junior for Cairns, Queensland North and Australia together with her outstanding 2022/23 WNBL season for the UC Capitals resulted in Swain being touted as a prospect for the 2023 Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Draft. At the Nike Hoops Summit Swain was one of two Australians along with 2024 WNBA Draft prospect Nyadiew Puoch to represent the World Select team against USA on 8 April in Portland, Oregon. Swain enhanced her draft prospects by scoring a team-high 19 points and taking four rebounds in 21 minutes and 24 seconds court-time for the World Select team against USA.

Swain was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks early in the second round with pick 14 overall at the 2023 WNBA Draft held in Spring Studios, New York City on Monday April 10. LA Sparks Head Coach Curt Miller told sparks.wnba.com “Swain is a 19-year-old crafty guard that has a tremendous future as both a play maker and a scorer. Her youth and ceiling excite us for the future.”1 Miller is in his first season as the LA Sparks Head Coach and eighth season overall as the Head Coach of a WNBA club, having held this role with the Connecticut Sun from 2016 to 2022.

At the 2023 WNBA Draft 176 centimetre tall Swain was the only Australian selected. Swain became the second UC Capitals guard to be selected in two years, following the selection of Jade Melbourne by Seattle Storm with pick 33 at the 2022 WNBA Draft.

Two players that played in the Cygnett WNBL 2022/23 season are on the Sparks 2023 roster, Swain’s UC Capitals teammate Rae Burrell and Karlie Samuelson who was a starter on Townsville Fire’s Championship winning team. 2020 WNBL MVP winner Steph Talbot signed with LA Sparks for the 2023 season but suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury playing in the WNBL for Adelaide Lightning and will miss the entire 2023 WNBA season.

Most of the players eligible to be selected at the 2022 WNBA Draft had attended college in the United States of America and turn 22 or 23 years of age in the year ended 31 December 2022. As a player that has not attended college and resides outside the United States of America Swain was part of a smaller group of ‘international players’ that were eligible for the 2023 WNBA draft if they turned 20 years old in the year ended 31 December 2023.

It is not uncommon for WNBA clubs to draft and stash international players. In this scenario an international player is drafted in the year that they turn 20 years of age and then remain overseas further developing their game for one season or multiple seasons before joining the WNBA club that drafted them. Current Seattle Storm player Ezi Magbegor was drafted at 19 years of age by Seattle with the 12^th pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft, remained in Australia for another year and joined Seattle for the 2020 season. Swain’s UC Capitals teammate Melbourne also opted to remain in Australia after being selected with pick 33 by Seattle Storm at the 2022 WNBA Draft. Melbourne has signed a three year rookie contract with Seattle and is currently in the club’s 2023 training camp with Magbegor.

On 26 April 2023 the Los Angeles Sparks announced their 17 player 2023 Training Camp roster and as expected stated “The No. 14 pick Shaneice Swain (Australia) will not come over to the WNBA in 2023.”2 Swain will continue playing in Australia for the Cairns Dolphins during the 2023 NBL1 North season.

Swain was born and raised in Cairns, North Queensland. After playing junior basketball at the Cairns Basketball Association Swain represented Queensland North at Australian Junior Championships from 2017 to 2019. As a bottom-age player for the Queensland North under 18’s team at the 2019 Australian Junior Championships Swain ranked first at the tournament with 25.8 points per game and ranked in the top five for three-pointers made and steals per game.

In mid-2019 Swain commenced a scholarship with the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence in Canberra. Swain was a member of Australian teams that won gold medals at the 2018 FIBA Under 15 Women’s Oceania Championship and the 2019 FIBA Under 17 Women’s Oceania Championship.

At 16 years of age Swain suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury. After spending considerable time on the sidelines and completing the rehabilitation process Swain played for the BA CoE at senior level during the 2021 Waratah league season. Swain was a starter alongside Melbourne on the Australian Gems silver medal winning team at the 2021 FIBA Under 19 Women’s World Cup held in Hungary from 7-15 August.

In addition to representing Cairns as a junior Swain has also represented the Cairns Dolphins at senior level in state leagues, having played for Cairns in the 2019 Queensland Basketball League season and the current 2023 NBL1 North season.

Swain is a proud Yupangathi and Gangalidda/Gooreng Gooreng woman and one of more than 10 players with Indigenous and First Nations heritage that played in the league during the 2022/23 WNBL season.

During Indigenous Round of the 2022/23 Cygnett WNBL season in February 2023 Swain was one of three WNBL athletes along with Abby Cubillo and Nes’aya Parker-Williams that ran basketball clinics in Darwin. Swain commented to WNBL Media “It was super exciting being able to go to the NT and give back to the Indigenous community. Seeing Indigenous kids having so much fun and being so happy, and to be able to share in that was really rewarding. It’s so important for kids coming from small towns or cities to be exposed to this kind of stuff. I came from a small city, and I’ve made it to where I am, so for them to look up to me is really special.”3

After Swain was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks with pick 14 at the 2023 WNBA Draft current Cairns Dolphins women’s Head Coach Sam Gruggen commented on Swain “She has this calmness and relaxation when she’s on the court, she doesn’t seem rushed at all. It just comes natural. It’s rare for basketball players but when she plays it looks like the game slows down when she has the ball in her hand. We spoke probably a month and a half ago and obviously the WNBA was on the radar and I thought from the moment she trained with us she could be a WNBA player. I don’t think a lot of people realise being picked 14th in the entire world for this draft class is an unbelievable achievement. I think Cairns as a whole should be thrilled and proud that another player has come through the system, from a place with only 150,000 people it’s pretty amazing.”4

Shaneice Swain’s basketball career from junior level for Cairns, Queensland North and Australia through to playing in state leagues at senior level, with the University of Canberra Capitals in the WNBL and being selected early in the second round of the 2023 WNBA Draft by Los Angeles Sparks is covered in more detail below.

Early life and junior career

Shaneice Swain was born on 15 October 2003 in Cairns, North Queensland. At five years of age Swain began playing basketball. Shaneice got plenty of practice in using the basketball hoop in her family’s Cairns backyard and started playing basketball at the Cairns Basketball Association. Swain progressed through the ranks at Cairns to play on representative teams and also played basketball for Cairns State High School. In a video published on the WNBL’s Facebook page on 20 February 2023 for Indigenous Round Swain commented “As a kid I was always competitive. As I started to get to under 14’s that’s where I was like I am kind of good at this sport, let’s see where it takes me.”

A men’s team, the Cairns Taipans have competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) since the 1999/2000 season. The closest WNBL team to Cairns is the JCU Townsville Fire. Townsville is approximately 345 kilometres south of Cairns. In mid-February 2023 during the WNBL’s Indigenous Round for the 2022/23 season Swain commented to WNBL Media on her childhood memories “We had the Taipans in Cairns but there wasn’t really any female teams that came. There was a program called the Tiny Taipans but I didn’t stay for long because I just wanted to play! I remember we got split up into different age groups and I always wanted to go over to the older group. That’s when I knew I loved the game and wanted to pursue it.”5

Swain and fellow Cairns junior Indiah Bowyer have been teammates at junior level for Queensland North as well as Australia and have played against each other at senior level in the WNBL and NBL1 North conference. At Australian Junior Championships Swain and Bowyer represented the Queensland North Under 16’s team in 2017 and 2018. In both years Swain averaged more than 18.5 points and 3.0 steals per game to rank in the top four of these two categories at both tournaments. In 2018 Swain led the tournament with 19.4 points per game. In the 2018 bronze medal game Swain scored 29 points, took eight rebounds and made three steals in Queensland North’s 73-32 victory against New South Wales Metro to win the bronze medal.

Swain was a member of the Queensland North under 18’s women’s team alongside Bowyer at the 2019 Australian Junior Championships held in Townsville in mid-April. Before the tournament Swain commented on the opportunity to again represent Queensland North “I’m really excited to play with all the girls, we’ve been playing together for a while now. We all know how each other play, we all know our strengths and weaknesses. We’re a pretty fast team, a skilled team. If we can put it all together, we should do well.”6

On her goals for the future Swain commented “I’d love to earn a scholarship to the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport), if that doesn’t work out, I’ll keep working hard through high school and hopefully get some college offers – go there for four years and hopefully shoot for the WNBA and the WNBL.”7

In Queensland North women’s under 18’s second game at the 2019 Australian Junior Championships held in Townsville Swain scored 39 points, took nine rebounds and made three steals against NSW Metro on 14 April 2019. Swain made 14 of 22 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 63.6%, made three of eight three-pointers and seven of nine free-throws at an accuracy of 77.8% in Queensland North’s 91-72 victory against NSW Metro. Three days later against South Australia Country on 17 April Swain made 17 of 30 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 56.7%, scored a game-high 39 points, took 10 rebounds, made two assists and two steals in Queensland North’s 92-82 victory.

Queensland North had four wins and one loss in their Pool A games to finish second out of five teams in their pool. At the tournament Queensland North had five wins, three losses and finished sixth out of 12 teams. Swain played all eight games for Queensland North’s Under 18 women’s team at the 2019 Australian Junior Championships and averaged 25.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 three-pointers made per game. As a bottom-age player Swain led the tournament in scoring per game, ranked equal fifth for steals, eighth for rebounds and equal second for three-pointers made.

Playing for Cairns Dolphins in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) 2019 season

At 15 years of age Swain represented the Cairns Dolphins at senior level during the 2019 Queensland Basketball League season and was teammates with Bowyer who had her 16^th birthday less than a fortnight before the 2019 QBL season started. Kerry Williams was the Head Coach of the Cairns Dolphins for the 2019 QBL season and has also held roles with Basketball Queensland. Williams played 105 NBL games for the Cairns Taipans from 2008/09 to 2012/13. Cairns also has a men’s team, the Cairns Marlins that competes in NBL1 North. Williams is the Head Coach of the Cairns Marlins in the current 2023 NBL1 North season.

Swain had no problems adjusting to playing against older more experienced opponents at senior level in the QBL. Swain scored 14 points in each of her first two games for Cairns Dolphins in the 2019 QBL season. Against the Brisbane Capitals in her third game of the season on 28 April Swain delivered a match-winning performance for the Cairns Dolphins to score 29 points, take nine rebounds, make two assists and seven steals in a 64-62 road victory at Auchenflower Stadium.

In a road game against USC Rip City on 13 July at USC Sports Stadium Swain scored a team-high 27 points, made two assists and three steals. Swain made 10 of 19 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 52.6% and made two of six three-pointers at 33.3%.

In nine of her 14 games for Cairns Dolphins during the 2019 QBL season Swain scored at least 14 points. Swain averaged 17.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.3 steals and 29.4 minutes per game for Cairns in 2019. Swain ranked fourth in the QBL for steals per game, 10^th for three-pointers made per game and 13^th for points.

Representing Australia at under-age level and attending the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence

Swain and Bowyer were teammates on the Australian Sapphires team that competed at the 2018 FIBA Under 15 Women’s Oceania Championship held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from 4-8 December 2018. Tracy York was Australia’s Head Coach. Teammates of Swain and Bowyer on the Sapphires team included Millie Prior, Chyra Evans, Charlise Dunn, Piper Dunlop and Kate Deeble.

In Australia’s final pool game against host nation Papua New Guinea Swain scored 13 points shooting at 66.7% from the field, made five of six free-throws at 83.3% and made a game-high seven assists in the Sapphires victory.

The Sapphires won all five games at the Under 15 Oceania Championship, culminating in defeating New Zealand 110-30 in the final to win the gold medal. Swain scored 13 points in the final shooting at 50% from the field, took a team-high eight rebounds and made two assists. Swain played all five games and averaged 10.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Swain ranked equal first for Australia in assists with Bowyer.

In July 2019 the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence announced that Swain was one of three new scholarship holders joining the BA CoE 2019 women’s class along with Emily Sewell (Victoria), and Lauren Wise (Tasmania). This trio joined a group of nine players who had already commenced their BA CoE scholarships including Jade Melbourne, Gemma Potter, Agnes Emma-Nnopu and Lily Scanlon. The BA CoE is based at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra.

Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence Head Coach Kristen Veal told australia.basketball “We are excited to see how these talented young athletes embrace the opportunities of a daily training environment and how they will grow as athletes, basketball players and young women over the next couple of years. All three new scholarship athletes are vastly different in how they express themselves and approach the game which makes them uniquely promising prospects. Over the remainder of 2019 we look forward to a solid training block where all new and returning athletes can further build robustness, athletic ability, skill consistency and training habits which will lay the foundation for a strong 2020.”8

The home page for the Centre of Excellence states “The program takes a holistic approach to the development of elite international athletes and integrates education, basketball services, sports science and personal excellence into its daily training environment. The centre also hosts the NBA’s Global Academy and the athletes in both programs formed a team that took part in the inaugural NBL1 season in 2019.”9

Swain along with 2022/23 UC Capitals teammates Jade Melbourne and Gemma Potter was a member of the Australian Sapphires team at the 2019 FIBA Under 17 Women’s Oceania Championship held in New Caledonia from 19 to 24 August.

In the Sapphires opening game against Guam Swain scored a game-high 21 points, took three rebounds, made a game-high eight assists, five steals and had a field goal accuracy of 81.8% in Australia’s victory.

Swain played all five games for the gold medal winning Sapphires and averaged 12.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 20.1 minutes per game. Swain ranked fourth overall at the 2019 FIBA Under 17 Oceania Championship for steals per game and 10^th for points.

At 16 years of age Swain injured the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee. Coaches and staff at the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence were able to assist Swain and provide support as she negotiated the rehabilitation process after injuring her ACL.

The Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence women’s team joined the newly established Waratah 1 league for the 2020 season and were scheduled to play 24 games, however early in the 2020 Waratah 1 season the impacts of COVID-19 were beginning to be felt in Australia and all around the world. Members of the BA CoE women’s and men’s programs returned to be with their families and completed basketball training sessions and high school classes remotely.

After two months away BA CoE scholarship holders returned to Canberra in late-May 2020. Head Coach of the BA CoE Women’s program Veal told australia.basketball “It was pretty dynamic, we had to change the schedule on a daily basis. We couldn’t get the girls into the AIS facilities when they first came back so we were training at Basketball ACT and the University of Canberra on the 3×3 courts and using the fields for outdoor gym and running.”

“Even that was an improvement from where they had been. They were into it… they were excited. They were like puppies being taken outside for a walk, they were so grateful to be able to have that level of access to each other and opportunity to be training again. They came back with really good perspective on what they had versus what others didn’t.”10

Swain missed less basketball games after her ACL injury than she would in normal circumstances due to the impact COVID-19 had as games were unable to be played due to the social distancing restrictions in place. The BA CoE were unable to regularly play games in a league during 2020 and improvised including simulating training camp scenarios. Olympian Marianna Tolo and Australian representative Keely Froling were involved in some CoE training sessions in the lead up to their 2020 WNBL season with the University of Canberra Capitals.

Playing for the BA CoE on 29 May 2021 against Hills Hornets in the Waratah League Swain made seven of 15 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 46.7%, scored a team-high 17 points, took six rebounds, made two assists and three steals in an 89-57 victory at Hills Basketball Stadium. Swain played three games for the BA CoE in 2021 and her teammates included Jade Melbourne, Nyadiew Puoch, Isobel Borlase, Millie Prior, Chyra Evans, Olivia Pollerd, Ruby-Belle MacDonald and Kate Deeble.

On 30 June 2021 Basketball Australia posted on Facebook that Swain was one of six athletes graduating from the BA CoE Women’s program for 2021 along with Melbourne, Prior, Sewell, Pollerd and MacDonald.

CoE Women’s Head Coach Veal commented “We are incredibly proud of this graduating class. The challenges and adversity they’ve endured and thrived through over the past two years speaks to their character, dedication, and passion to their basketball and each other.

We look forward to watching these amazing young women continue to grow and make their mark in the USA College system or the WNBL.”11

At the 2021 FIBA Under 19 Women’s World Cup held in Hungary from 7-15 August Swain was a starter for the Australian Gems team, fellow starting guard Melbourne was the captain. David Herbert was the Head Coach of the Gems and Kristen Veal was an assistant coach.

In the Gems opening game of the tournament their starting line-up was guards Melbourne, Swain and Kate Deeble along with forward Millie Prior and centre Chyra Evans. Also in the Gems squad were guards Isobel Borlase, Dallas Loughridge and Isabelle Morgan along with forwards Nyadiew Puoch, Charlise Dunn and Olivia Pollerd and centre Kelsey Rees.

In Australia’s opening game of the tournament Swain shot at 54.5% from the field, made three of six three-pointers at 50%, scored 15 points, took five rebounds, made two assists and two steals in a victory against Egypt.

During their Group A games the Gems had victories against Egypt and Italy and were defeated by USA 59-99. Swain didn’t play Australia’s third group game of the tournament against Italy and was replaced in the starting line-up by Puoch. For all other games at the tournament the Gems used the same starting line-up as their tournament opener comprised of Melbourne, Swain, Deeble, Prior and Evans.

From the Round of 16 until the semi finals the Gems defeated Argentina 66-35, Canada 72-61 and Mali 62-50 to advance to the final against USA, the only team Australia had lost to in their first six games of the tournament. In the Gems Round of 16 victory against Argentina Swain made two of five three-pointers at 40%, scored 11 points, took six rebounds and made two assists.

Against USA in the gold medal game the Gems trailed by eight points 28-36 at half-time. USA outscored Australia 19-10 in the third quarter and went on to defeat the Gems 70-52 resulting in USA winning the gold medal and Australia taking home the silver medal.

Swain played six of Australia’s seven games at the 2021 FIBA Under 19’s Women’s World Cup and averaged 8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 19.9 minutes per game. Swain ranked second for the silver medal winning Gems in steals, fourth in scoring and assists and fifth for minutes played per game.

Playing in the WNBL for University of Canberra Capitals in 2021/22

On 9 October 2021 the University of Canberra Capitals announced that they had signed Swain for the 2021/22 WNBL season. Then UC Capitals Head Coach Paul Goriss told WNBL Media “Shaneice has graduated from the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence program and just come off a silver medal podium finish with the U19 Gems at the FIBA World Cup. Shaneice is a silky smooth athlete with great ball-handling skills and the ability to get to the basket. She is fearless and is capable of being a great defender with her length and athleticism.”12 Goriss was in his sixth consecutive season as Head Coach of the UC Capitals in 2021/22. Canberra won back-to-back WNBL Championships in 2018/19 and 2019/20 and were defeated in a semi final in 2020.

The UC Capitals 11 player main roster for the 2021/22 WNBL season included eight players over 23 years of age at the start of the season – Kelsey Griffin, Kelly Wilson, Mikaela Ruef, Alex Bunton, Brittany Smart, Tahlia Tupaea, Alicia Froling and American import Brittney Sykes. 2018/19 WNBL MVP Griffin and the league’s games record holder Wilson were the UC Capitals co-captains. The Capitals also had three guards under 23 years of age on their main roster for 2021/22- Swain, Jade Melbourne and Abby Cubillo. Swain and Melbourne had been teammates at the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence and were both members of the Australian Gems silver medal winning team at the 2021 FIBA Under 19 Women’s World Cup.

Throughout the 2021/22 WNBL season Swain was able to learn from training alongside experienced teammates and watching games. Swain’s debut WNBL season was hampered by injury and she didn’t get the opportunity to take to the court in a game herself until late in the season.

In Round 13 of the 2021/22 WNBL season the league held its first ever Indigenous Round. On 5 March 2022 Swain made her WNBL debut at 18 years of age during Indigenous Round for the UC Capitals against the Southside Flyers at Dandenong Stadium. On debut Swain scored five points in just three minutes and 47 seconds court-time, making two of three field goal attempts at an accuracy of 66.7% and made her only three-pointer. Against Adelaide Lightning in a road game at The Lights and Community Sports Centre on 17 March Swain scored a season-high 10 points, took two rebounds and made two steals in 14 minutes and 45 seconds court-time.

The University of Canberra Capitals had 11 wins and six losses during the 2021/22 WNBL regular season to finish third on the ladder behind the Melbourne Boomers (12 wins and five losses) and Perth Lynx (11 wins and five losses), and ahead of the fourth placed Adelaide Lightning (10 wins and seven losses). The Capitals were defeated by Perth Lynx 77-91 in a semi final at Bendat Basketball Centre on 24 March.

Nine players on the UC Capitals 11 player main roster averaged more than 12.0 minutes per game in 2021/22 with the exceptions being Swain and Cubillo. In her debut WNBL season with the University of Canberra Capitals in 2021/22 Swain played five games, averaging 3.6 points and 8.3 minutes per game.

Playing in the NBL1 North Conference for Mackay Meteorettes in 2022

Swain returned to Queensland and played for the McDonald’s Mackay Meteorettes during the 2022 NBL1 North season. From 17 games for Mackay Swain registered four double-doubles comprised of three different combinations, points and rebounds twice, points and assists once and points and steals once.

Against Cairns Dolphins on 8 May at Mackay Basketball Stadium Swain scored 23 points, took five rebounds, made four assists and took 10 steals in a game Mackay won 91-90 after the first period of overtime.

In her next game Swain registered another double-double comprised of 32 points and 10 rebounds in a Round 3 home victory 83-67 against Rockhampton Cyclones on 14 May at Mackay Basketball Stadium. Swain made 12 of 29 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 41.4% and made three assists, three steals and blocked two shots. Swain was named the NBL1 North Women’s Round 3 Player of the Week.

On the road against Gold Coast Rollers on 27 May at Carrara Stadium Swain registered her third double-double of the season comprised of 10 points along with a season-high and game-high 12 assists in Mackay’s 91-77 victory. Swain also took five rebounds, made a game-high five steals and blocked one shot.

Swain registered her fourth and final double-double of the 2022 NBL1 North season with 18 points and 11 rebounds in Mackay’s 8 July home game against Southern Districts Spartans. Swain also made an equal team-high four assists and an equal game-high three steals.

For Mackay in the 2022 NBL1 North season Swain averaged 16.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game. Swain scored at least 18 points in eight of her 17 games.

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The Milestones and Misses website was set up in December 2015. Since December 2021 articles have been published on Milestones and Misses celebrating the careers of the following present and past WNBL players:

Mia Murray

Steph Reid

Jenna O’Hea

Ally Wilson

Sara Blicavs

Carley Ernst

Kiera Rowe

Chelsea Brook

Sami Whitcomb

Abbey Wehrung

Penny Taylor

Rachel Jarry

Kristy Wallace

Anneli Maley

Lindsay Allen

Jade Melbourne

Maddison Rocci

Cayla George

Kelly Wilson

Steph Talbot

Bec Cole

Aimie Rocci

Abby Bishop

A link to Milestones and Misses homepage and WNBL category is below:

https://milestonesandmisses.com/

https://milestonesandmisses.com/category/wnbl/

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Swain’s breakout 2022/23 Cygnett WNBL season with the University of Canberra Capitals

In the 2022/23 WNBL season the University of Canberra Capitals had a less experienced team than in 2021/22. Three members of the 2021/22 core rotation all joined Bendigo Spirit in the off-season – Griffin, Wilson and Alicia Froling. Tahlia Tupaea had signed with the UC Capitals for the 2022/23 season but was granted leave due to personal reasons and didn’t take part in the season. During 2022/23 the UC Capitals had a three player leadership group comprised of Smart, Bunton and Melbourne.

The UC Capitals starting line-up for their opening game of the 2022/23 Cygnett WNBL season on 6 November 2022 against Bendigo at the National Convention Centre was Melbourne and Gemma Potter in the backcourt along with Bunton and American import forwards Rae Burrell and Dekeiya Cohen in the frontcourt. At the 2022 WNBA Draft Burrell was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks in the first round with pick number nine overall. Burrell played three games in her debut WNBA season with the Sparks before a knee injury ended her 2022 season. Other players on the UC Capitals 11 player main roster at the start of the season were Swain, Smart, Rebecca Pizzey, Emilee Whittle-Harmon, Sherrie Calleia and Elizabeth Tonks. During the 2022/23 WNBL season Swain was housemates with UC Capitals teammates Potter and Pizzey.

UC Capitals team huddle before their game against the Deakin Melbourne Boomers at Melbourne Sports Centres Parkville on 20 November 2022

Two UC Capitals starters suffered injuries in Round 1 of the 2022/23 season, Potter tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee in the first quarter against Bendigo and Melbourne injured her ankle in a road game against Townsville on 6 November which forced her to miss two games.

With Potter injured early Swain had increased playing time against Bendigo and played well to score 15 points, take five rebounds and made a team-high four assists. Swain shot the ball proficiently to make five of 10 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 50%, four of five three-pointers at 80% and her only free-throw. After the game Bendigo Spirit forward and former teammate Griffin commented on Shaneice to The Canberra Times “This being her first true WNBL season, Swainy came out and didn’t play like a rookie at all. She played really well, and her future is really bright.”13

In an article published in The Canberra Times on 11 November 2022 Capitals Head Coach Veal commented on Swain “This could be a breakout year for her. If it’s not, it’ll be a huge growth year, which is going to lead to a breakout year. I thought for Shaniece we’d take a little bit of the pressure and the expectation off and just feed her way in behind Jade and Gemma. But as the universe works out, Gemma with surgery and out for the season, there is opportunity for somebody to come in. She’s still only 19, and the youngest player on our team. But her receptiveness to information, her involvement in learning the game, has been better this year than I’ve ever seen.”14

Swain was elevated into the Capitals starting line-up for the Round 2 road game against Townsville alongside Smart, Burrell, Cohen and Bunton. Import Dekeiya Cohen started for the UC Capitals in their first four games of the season but then left the club and returned to the United States of America. After Cohen’s departure the UC Capitals signed guard Nicole Munger as an American import.

The standard of competition in the WNBL is considerably higher than NBL1 Conferences. Entering the 2022/23 Cygnett WNBL season Swain had played less than 45 minutes total in the league. In Swain’s first four games of the 2022/23 Cygnett WNBL season she had a total of 24 turnovers and at least four turnovers in each game. As the season progressed Swain was able to reduce her turnovers and she had more than three turnovers in three of her last 14 games.

From Round 2 Swain started five consecutive games, the last of these games, the Capitals seventh game of the season was the first time that the club had the same starting five for two consecutive games in the 2022/23 Cygnett WNBL season. The UC Capitals starting line-up for their Round 5 home game against Sydney and Round 6 home game against Southside was Melbourne, Swain, Munger, Whittle-Harmon and Bunton.

Shaneice Swain playing for UC Capitals against the Deakin Melbourne Boomers at Melbourne Sports Centres Parkville on 20 November 2022

Due to personal reasons Swain missed the UC Capitals Round 7 home game against Perth on 21 December and was replaced in the starting line-up by Smart. Swain returned for the Capitals Round 7 road game against Sydney and was played off the bench for three games with the Capitals starting five for their four games across Rounds 7 and 8 being Melbourne, Smart, Munger, Burrell and Bunton.

In Swain’s first eight games of the 2022/23 season before Christmas she played over 15 minutes in each game and scored at least 11 points in a game six times with a career-high 15 points in two home games, against Bendigo on November 6 and against the Sydney Flames on 10 December.

In the Capitals first four games after Christmas Swain played phenomenal basketball to score at least 17 points in each game. This sequence commenced with 22 points and four steals to set game-highs in both categories in a road game against the Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 28 December playing 21 minutes and 48 seconds court-time playing off the bench. Against Southside Swain shot the ball proficiently to make eight of 16 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 50%, was even more damaging from long range to make a game-high three three-pointers from five attempts at 60% and made all three free-throws.

Shaneice Swain playing for University of Canberra Capitals against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 28 December 2022

In the UC Capitals next game on 30 December against Sydney Flames on the road Swain starting on the bench scored a team-high 21 points, made a game-high five three pointers from nine attempts at an accuracy of 55.6%, made both free-throws and took five rebounds.

On her increased role for the UC Capitals in 2022/23 and the opportunity to start some games Swain commented to WNBL Media on 4 January 2023 “I have been nervous at the start of a couple of games because coming from last season, I’d rarely come on. I knew though, that I just had to get rid of the nerves because at some point it would have happened [starting] and I know I just need to just play through it.”15

Shaneice Swain in an on court team huddle for University of Canberra Capitals against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 28 December 2022

The game against Sydney on 30 December was the UC Capitals third consecutive road game. Canberra started 2023 with two home games. On playing home games at the National Convention Centre Swain told WNBL Media “Every time, it’s just the best playing in front of Caps fans, we always get a good crowd, it just lifts the energy and gives us adrenaline to just keep going.”16

After Swain scored more than 20 points off the bench in each of the UC Capitals two Round 8 road games she was brought in to the starting line-up in place of Smart for the Capitals first game of 2023 alongside Melbourne, Munger, Burrell, and Bunton. In the UC Capitals first game of 2023 at home game against Townsville on 7 January at the National Convention Centre Swain as a starter scored 17 points, ranked second for the UC Capitals behind Melbourne with 19 points. Swain shot the ball at 50% from the field and made a game high three three-pointers from seven attempts at an accuracy of 42.9%.

The UC Capitals lost their first 12 games of the 2022/23 Cygnett WNBL season with their smallest losing margin during this time being 10 points in a road game against Adelaide on 30 November.

On 11 January the UC Capitals hosted Bendigo Spirit at the National Convention Centre and were without experienced players and leadership group members Smart and Bunton. Only two of the eight players that played for the UC Capitals against Bendigo entered the game with more than 20 games WNBL experience, Pizzey (68 games) and Melbourne (40) who was captaining the club. Pizzey had the first WNBL start of her career against Bendigo, joining Melbourne, Swain, Munger and Burrell in the Caps starting 5. Bendigo won their first seven games of the 2022/23 season and entered the clash against the UC Capitals with a record of eight wins and three losses. Four of the eight players that played for Bendigo against Canberra had played over 150 WNBL games, Kelly Wilson who is the only player in WNBL history to play over 400 WNBL games, Kelsey Griffin, Ally Wilson and Abbey Wehrung.

Against Bendigo Spirit at the National Convention Centre on 11 January the UC Capitals led 27-26 with six minutes remaining in the second quarter. Swain scored the next six points of the game comprised of a three-pointer and a three-point play to open up a seven point UC Capitals lead. Swain scored two driving lay-ups in the remainder of the second term to increase her tally to 10 points for the term and the UC Capitals led 39-38 at half-time. Bendigo co-captain Griffin injured her hamstring late in the first quarter and didn’t play after quarter time. Swain added seven points in the third quarter with a driving lay up, a three-pointer and a jump shot to help the Capitals set up a three point lead, 63-60 at the final change. The UC Capitals went on to defeat Bendigo by seven points, 92-85 to record their first win of the season in front of a passionate home crowd.

Swain finished the victory against Bendigo with 22 points – ranked second for the UC Capitals behind Burrell with 24 points, took six rebounds, made two assists and two steals. Swain made nine of 16 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 56.3% and made a game-high three three-pointers from eight attempts at 37.5%.

In a post-game interview on ESPN after the Capitals defeated Bendigo Veal was asked about recording her first win as a WNBL Head Coach and responded “It is not even about the first win, it is just about these girls persisting, playing some really good basketball and getting some reward for that. Just so excited for them and so proud of them. I am glad we got our first win at home, it is a credit to the support and people say that all the time but their positivity when we haven’t won a game all year has been so calming and so reassuring.”

In the UC Capitals first four games after Christmas from 28 December to 11 January Swain took her game to another stratosphere to average 20.5 points per game, shot at 50% from the field, made 14 of 29 three pointers at an accuracy of 48.3% and averaged 2.0 steals per game.

On 10 February 2023 the WNBL launched Indigenous Round held in Round 14 of the 2022/23 Cygnett WNBL season from 11 to 19 February, aligning with National Apology Day on 13 February. The Head of WNBL Christy Collier-Hill told WNBL Media “I’m thrilled to see the WNBL hosting its second Indigenous Round. For many indigenous people, particularly the younger generation, it’s crucial for them to have idols in sports and feel their culture’s represented within the game. We hope the increased representation throughout the themed-round will give the community something to aspire to and a sense of belonging.”17

More than 10 players with Indigenous and First Nations heritage played in the league during the 2022/23 WNBL season. Throughout Indigenous Round all eight WNBL clubs wore Indigenous jerseys and players wore Indigenous Round warm-up t-shirts featuring the league-wide Indigenous artwork, designed by Indigenous artist Tamara May Murray. On 31 October 2022 the WNBL announced that the “Referee panel will wear jerseys with an Indigenous design component for all 84 games of the Cygnett WNBL season for the first time.”18

As part of the partnership between the WNBL and The Pick and Roll Tristan Prentice wrote an article for the WNBL’s Indigenous Round that was published on the website of both organisations. In the article three Indigenous players, Adelaide Lightning guard Abby Cubillo, Bendigo Spirit guard Ally Wilson and Swain told Prentice what the WNBL’s Indigenous Round means to them. Swain commented on the WNBL’s Indigenous Round “I think it means a lot to me because being able to represent my culture and then having like a whole round dedicated to the culture is pretty special because other people, other players can learn more about the Indigenous cultures through jersey designs.”19

An article published by WNBL Media on 11 February 2023 stated “This season, the UC Capitals made the decision to wear an Indigenous uniform for the entirety of the season. This decision was made, as part of the club’s ongoing commitment to reconciliation and the celebration of First Peoples culture and history.”20

Swain commented to The Pick and Roll on the UC Capitals indigenous uniforms “We’ve actually got the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flag on our uniforms already and Indigenous art on it – so we’ve been playing with it the whole season. It’s pretty special to be able to represent and wear the jersey with the flags on it. Having everyone on board with doing that as well. It’s pretty special to me.”21

Patrick Mills became the first Indigenous player to represent the Australian men’s basketball team, the Boomers at four consecutive Olympic Games – 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020. Mills is the founder of Indigenous Basketball Australia (IBA). One of the initiatives of Indigenous Basketball Australia was the establishment of the Indigenous Community Basketball League (ICBL) in 2021 which provides greater opportunity for indigenous boys and girls to engage in basketball.

Swain told The Pick and Roll “I feel there have been some big steps in the right direction. There’s a lot of basketball role models and even people that aren’t indigenous advocating for these pathways for the Indigenous youth.”22

Due to a knee injury Swain missed the UC Capitals road game against Townsville Fire on 27 January and home game against Adelaide Lightning on 2 February. Swain made her return in Canberra’s home game against Adelaide during Indigenous Round on 18 February and only played 13 minutes and 25 seconds court-time.

Swain made 11 of 24 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 45.8% and set a new personal best with a team-high 25 points in the UC Capitals penultimate game of the season against the Melbourne Boomers at the National Convention Centre on 25 February. In the 95-103 loss to the Boomers Swain made three of 10 three-pointers, took five rebounds, made two assists and an equal game-high three steals.

In a home game against Perth Lynx at the National Convention Centre to conclude the season on 4 March only seven players played for the injury hit UC Capitals. Against Perth Swain scored a game-high and career-high 33 points, took four rebounds, made a career-high five assists, had one turnover, took two steals and blocked one shot in a 94-107 loss. Swain shot the ball proficiently to make 11 of 21 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 52.4%, made a game-high and career-high eight three-pointers from 15 attempts at 53.3% and made three of four free-throws at 75%.

During the 2022/23 Cygnett WNBL season Swain played 18 games for the University of Canberra Capitals including 13 as a starter and averaged 14.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 26.1 minutes per game. Among players who played at least five games for the season Swain led the UC Capitals for points, three-pointers made and steals per game, ranked second for assists behind Melbourne and fifth for minutes and rebounds. Swain was one of four players that played at least five games for the UC Capitals and averaged more than 10.0 points per game along with Burrell (14.0 points per game), Melbourne (13.4) and Munger (11.9). Early in the season Swain had more turnovers than assists. Throughout the season Swain was able to improve her assist to turnover ratio and in her last six games of the season had a total of 12 assists and 9 turnovers for an assist to turnover ratio of 1.33. In the Capitals last game of the season against Perth Swain had a season-high five assists and just one turnover.

Shaneice Swain playing for University of Canberra Capitals against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 28 December 2022 with import Burrell to her right

Rebecca Pizzey was the only UC Capitals player that played all 21 games for the club in 2022/23. At the other end of the spectrum main roster members Potter (1 game), Whittle-Harmon (7) and Bunton (13) only played 21 games between them and import Cohen left the club after four games. The UC Capitals finished last on the ladder with two wins and 19 losses. Throughout the 2022/23 season 12 players started at least one game for the UC Capitals and 15 players represented the club. Seven players started at least seven games for the UC Capitals, Swain ranked fourth with 13 starts behind Melbourne (19), Burrell (19) and Munger (16). Other players in the top seven were Bunton (12) Pizzey (9) and Smart (7). The only three UC Capitals players that didn’t have a start in 2022/23 were Solway, Tugliach and Schwagmeyer-Belger.

Positives for the Capitals were the development of several players including Swain, the team maintaining good team chemistry despite the win-loss status and the UC Capitals fans continuing to passionately support their team. At the UC Capitals Awards the fans received a new 6^th player award recognising “the person or group who made the most impact off the court, towards the team’s success.”23 UC Capitals Head Coach Veal commented “the true testament of one’s character is how one shows up through change, adversity and disappointment. Our 6^th player showed up on time, every time, all the time. To our fans – thank you.”24

Melbourne took on a leadership role in her third WNBL season, won the UC Capitals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award and was selected in the All-WNBL Second Team. Joining Melbourne among the four players that received Awards at the UC Capital Awards night were three players that each had their first WNBL starts in 2022/23, Pizzey, Swain and early season signing Munger. Pizzey received the Kelly Abrams Best Defensive Player Award and Munger won the Players’ Player Award.

At the UC Capitals 2022/23 Awards Swain won the Capital on the Rise Award. UC Capitals Head Coach Kristen Veal commented to WNBL Media “This season showed more than a glimpse of what’s to come for Shaneice Swain. She’s had huge growth as a person and player through managing personal struggles, youthful nerves, all whilst taking it up to many of the league’s best players.”25

Shaneice Swain shooting a free-throw for University of Canberra Capitals against Southside Flyers at the State Basketball Centre on 28 December 2022

Swain well and truly delivered the breakout season UC Capitals Head Coach Veal spoke about after Round 1 of the 2022/23 Cygnett WNBL season. Swain ranked fourth in the WNBL for steals per game, ninth for three-pointers made, 12^th for field goals made and 15^th for points.

For the 2023/24 WNBL season Swain is a free agent, however free agency is yet to commence as negotiations continue regarding the WNBL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for the 2023/24 season. Most of the players that played in the WNBL during the 2022/23 season are free agents for the 2023/24 season. Whilst CBA negotiations are in progress players can re-sign with the club they played for in 2022/23. The University of Canberra Capitals have already signed six players for 2023/24 – Melbourne, Munger, Bunton, Pizzey, Potter and Tupaea. Kristen Veal is signed for her second season as the UC Capitals Head Coach in 2023/24.

Selected in the 2023 WNBA Draft by Los Angeles Sparks

On 24 March 2023 the World Select teams for the 2023 Nike Hoop Summit were announced. Swain was one of two Australians along with Southside Flyers forward Nyadiew Puoch selected in the women’s World Select team. One Australian, Alex Toohey was selected on the men’s World Select team. The World Select teams are comprised of international players 19 years of age and younger. During the Nike Hoops Summit the World Select teams had several training sessions and played a game against USA teams comprised of American high school seniors.

Shaneice Swain playing defense for University of Canberra Capitals against Southside Flyers forward Nyadiew Puoch at the State Basketball Centre on 28 December 2022

Shaneice Swain being defended by Nyadiew Puoch at the State Basketball Centre on 28 December 2022

Swain and Puoch both started for the World Select team against USA in the Nike Hoop Summit on 8 April in Portland, Oregon. After USA led 10-4 with six minutes and 40 seconds remaining in the first quarter Swain scored seven of the next nine points in the game comprised of two pullup jump shots, and a three-pointer to spark a 7-2 run by the World Select team to reduce the deficit to one point, 11-12 with five minutes and 40 seconds left in the first term. At half-time USA led the World Select team 53-46 and Swain had scored 12 points. USA went on to record victory by 21 points, 100-79. Swain scored a team-high 19 points, took four rebounds, made two assists and blocked one shot in 21 minutes and 24 seconds court-time. Swain made six of 14 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 42.9%, three of eight three-pointers at 37.5% and all four free-throws. Joining Swain in double figures for the World Select team were Canadian guard/forward Toby Fournier (18 points) and fellow Australian Puoch (16 points) who shot at 83.3% from the field and had a game-high four blocked shots.

After the game Swain was asked about her plans for the 2023 WNBA Draft. Swain confirmed that she had nominated for the Draft and commented “I’m actually going to be traveling during the draft. I will probably find out on social media.”26

At a WNBA Draft 36 players are selected comprised of three rounds with 12 picks in each round. In the week leading up to the 2023 WNBA Draft Swain’s placing in mock drafts ranged from being a late first round selection to going undrafted. The 2023 WNBA Draft was held in Spring Studios, New York City on Monday April 10. The Los Angeles Sparks selected Swain with the second pick of the second round, pick 14 overall. LA Sparks Chief Administrative Officer and General Manager Karen Bryant commented to WNBA Media on Swain “A priority for us in this draft was to acquire young players that we could develop in our system. Our staff was really impressed with Shaneice’s skillset, and we think her upside is high.”27

The Los Angeles Sparks had three selections at the 2023 WNBA Draft and chose Swain with their second pick. Los Angeles selected guard Zia Cooke with pick 10 and forward/centre Monika Czinano with pick 26. Cooke was recruited from University of South Carolina and Czinano was recruited from University of Iowa. In the 2023 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s tournament Cooke and Czinano played against each other with Iowa defeating South Carolina 77-73 in the Final Four. In the Championship game Iowa lost to LSU Tigers. Cooke was a member of the South Carolina team that won the 2022 NCAA Women’s tournament and was selected in the women’s NCAA Final Four all-tournament team in three consecutive seasons from 2021 and 2023.

The WNBA held its inaugural season in 1997. The Los Angeles Sparks were founded in 1996 and were one of eight clubs that competed in the WNBA’s first season in 1997. The LA Sparks are one of only three club’s along with New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury that have competed in every WNBA season and remain in the same city they were founded. The Sparks have won three WNBA Championships – 2001, 2002 and 2016.

Swain is managed by SIG Sports. On April 12 Sammy Wloszczowski, Director of Player Personnel at SIG Sports tweeted “When the @LASparks crew heard @SwainShaneice had a layover at LAX an hour after the draft they raced over to meet their newest star!

A special moment for a special player!

💜💛”28

After Shaneice was drafted by the LA Sparks her father Norman Swain told ABC News “From a very young age, I just knew she had talent. We had a basketball hoop outside, she’d come in very late from outside, 9, 10pm. That’s all she wanted to do.”29

On Shaneice being selected at the 2023 WNBA Draft Norman Swain commented to ABC News “Over the moon, very excited. Held back a few tears, I just can’t wait until she gets back home and I can enjoy the moment with her.”30

Most of the players eligible to be selected at the 2023 WNBA Draft had attended college in the United States of America and turn 22 or 23 years of age in the year ended 31 December 2023. As a player that has not attended college and resides outside the United States of America Swain was part of a smaller group of ‘international players’ that were eligible for the 2023 WNBA draft if they turned 20 years old in the year ended 31 December 2023. Swain’s 20^th birthday is on 15 October 2023.

It is not uncommon for international players to spend an additional one or multiple seasons playing overseas before joining the WNBA club that drafted them. A prime example is current Seattle Storm player and Australian Opal Magbegor who was drafted at 19 years of age by Seattle with the 12^th pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft, remained in Australia for another year and joined Seattle for the 2020 season. In her third WNBA season Magbegor was selected in the 2022 WNBA All-Defensive Second Team. Swain’s UC Capitals teammate Melbourne also opted to remain in Australia after being selected with pick 33 by Seattle Storm at the 2022 WNBA Draft. Playing for the UC Capitals in 2022/23 Melbourne led the WNBL with 6.1 assists per game. Melbourne has signed a three year rookie contract with Seattle and is currently in the club’s 2023 training camp.

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After Jade Melbourne was drafted by Seattle Storm in April 2022 Milestones and Misses published an article covering her career to that point. A link to this article is below:

Jade Melbourne’s journey from Traralgon to play for the Australian Opals and be drafted by Seattle Storm at 19 years of age

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After the 2023 WNBA Draft Los Angeles Sparks Chief Administrative Officer and General Manager Karen Bryant commented “We don’t expect Shaneice to come over and play and be a part of the team in 2023. But, we’re excited about the future prospect of her coming over here. We’re obviously mindful of her age and want to be smart about how we continue to invest in her future and bring her over at the right time.”31

The day after Swain was drafted by the LA Sparks Kerry Williams who was the Head Coach of the Cairns Dolphins in 2019 and is the Head Coach of the Cairns Marlins in the current 2023 NBL1 North season commented to the National Indigenous Times on Swain “She was definitely a standout – the way she trained, her mentality is something you only see in a few people. I think she’d be ecstatic with that (draft placement), I spoke to her earlier and she thought she’d be picked in the one or two spot in the second round. But she showcased her talent in the Hoop Summit which put her on the map. Her best skills are her ability to score and her athleticism, but her special skill is that she doesn’t let anything bother her. She just moves on to the next possession, which is a great skill to have.”32

On 26 April 2023 the Los Angeles Sparks announced their training camp for the 2023 WNBA season and confirmed that Swain would not be playing in the WNBA in 2023. Swain will be able to continue developing her game in Australia competing in the NBL1 North Conference with Cairns Dolphins and in the WNBL before joining the LA Sparks for a future WNBA season.

The Los Angeles Sparks announcement on 26 April 2023 of their 2023 training camp roster stated “The Sparks 17-woman training camp roster returns six players from the 2022 Sparks, led by former MVP and WNBA champion Nneka Ogwumike. Also returning is two-time WNBA All-Star Chiney Ogwumike, WNBA Champions Lexie Brown and Jordin Canada, 2022 first-round draft pick Rae Burrell and Southern California native Katie Lou Samuelson, who will miss the 2023 season (pregnancy).”33 Nneka Ogwumike was a member of the LA Sparks 2016 WNBA Championship winning team and won the WNBA’s 2016 regular season MVP Award.

Players that have joined the LA Sparks in the off-season include Azura Stevens, Jordin Canada, Jasmine Thomas, Dearica Hamby and Karlie Samuelson. Two players that played in the Cygnett WNBL 2022/23 season are on the LA Sparks 2023 training camp roster, Swain’s UC Capitals teammate Rae Burrell and Karlie Samuelson who was a starter on Townsville Fire’s Championship winning team. 2020 WNBL MVP winner and Australian Opals starter Steph Talbot signed with LA Sparks for the 2023 season but suffered an ACL injury playing in the WNBL for Adelaide Lightning and will miss the entire 2023 season.

The youngest player on the LA Sparks 2023 training camp roster is 2023 draftee Zia Cooke who had her 22^nd birthday in January this year and is two years and 10 months older than Swain. Only a total of three players on the LA Sparks 17 player training camp roster are under 25 years of age with Cooke being joined in this category by 22 year old Burrell (turns 23 in June) and 23 year old Czinano.

Australians that have played in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks previously include Kristi Harrower, Jenna O’Hea, Erin Phillips, Marianna Tolo, Liz Cambage and Amy Atwell.

Whilst Swain and Talbot wont be playing in the WNBA during the 2023 season there will be a strong Australian presence in the league. Eight Australians are on 2023 Training camp rosters for WNBA clubs, Ezi Magbegor, Sami Whitcomb and Jade Melbourne (all for Seattle Storm), Anneli Maley and Alanna Smith (both for Chicago Sky), Rebecca Allen (Connecticut Sun), Kristy Wallace (Indiana Fever) and Cayla George (Las Vegas Aces).

Australian Opals Head Coach Sandy Brondello is the Head Coach of New York Liberty. Brondello’s German husband Olaf Lange is on New York’s coaching staff as an Assistant Coach. Two Australians are Assistant Coaches of WNBA clubs in 2023 – Paul Goriss (Atlanta Dream) and Tully Bevilaqua (Phoenix Mercury). Goriss was the UC Capitals Head Coach in Swain’s debut 2021/22 WNBL season.

Selection in Australian Opals 2023 squad

On 13 January 2023 Swain was selected in an Australian Opals extended 26 player squad for 2023 and was one of two UC Capitals players included along with Melbourne. Four players that are under 21 years of age and have graduated from the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence in the last two years were selected in the Opals squad, Swain (19 years old), Melbourne (20), Puoch (18) and Borlase (18). This quartet of players were all members of the Australian Gems silver medal winning team at the 2021 FIBA Under 19 Women’s World Cup held in Hungary.

At the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup held in Sydney from 22 September to 1 October the Australian Opals won the bronze medal. An Australian Opals tournament later this year will also be on home soil with Sydney hosting the 2023 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup from 26 June to 2 July. As part of the Opals preparations a training camp was held at the AIS National Training Centre from March 31 – April 5, 2023.

After the Opals 2023 extended squad was announced in January Opals Head Coach Sandy Brondello commented “There is no doubt the World Cup was fantastic, but all our attention is now firmly on the future, and we have some really exciting talent that I look forward to working with. The camp will give us the opportunity to bring back our seasoned athletes and mix them with emerging talent in what will be a very competitive environment. We have to keep investing in the future and immersing them in the Opals culture, so they know physically and mentally what it takes to play at the highest level.”34

Eight nations are competing at the 2023 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup held in Sydney in late June and early July. Australia are in Group B with Japan, Chinese Taipei and Philippines. The four nations in Group A are China, Korea, New Zealand and Lebanon. All games during the tournament will be played at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre (also known as Qudos Bank Arena). The Opals will be competing in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup for the fourth time, having won the silver medal in 2017 and the bronze medal in 2019 and 2021. At the 2023 FIBA Asia Cup Japan will be attempting to win the gold medal for the sixth consecutive time, having commenced this streak in 2013. China have won the silver medal at the past two FIBA Women’s Asia Cups and won silver at the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup held in Sydney.

Opals Head Coach Sandy Brondello told Basketball Australia “We have to qualify for Paris and the Asia Cup is really important for us. We have to put the best team on the court that we have available, eight of our players will go off to the WNBA and will most likely not be available, so a great opportunity for some of our young players to step up.”35

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Milestones and Misses will publish a 2023 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup preview and Australian Opals player profiles article. Similar articles have been published by Milestones and Misses for:

The FIBA 2022 World Cup Qualifying Tournament held in Serbia in February

The Opals 3 game series against Japan held in New South Wales in May 2022 and

The 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup held in Sydney

Below is a link to the 5 on 5 Tournament preview and Opals player profiles category of Milestones and Misses.

https://milestonesandmisses.com/category/australian-opals/5-on-5-tournament-preview-and-opals-player-profiles/

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All eight Australians currently attending 2023 WNBA training camps were in the Australian Opals 26 player squad. If all eight Australians – Seattle Storm trio Magbegor, Whitcomb and Melbourne, Chicago Sky duo Maley and Smith, Allen (Connecticut Sun), Wallace (Indiana Fever) and George (Las Vegas Aces) are playing in the WNBA in late June only 17 players from the squad will be available for selection for the Asia Cup as Steph Talbot is on the sidelines due to her ACL injury.

The remaining 17 players in the Opals squad are comprised of nine guards and eight frontcourt players. The guards are Swain, Australian Opals captain Tess Madgen, Amy Atwell, Isobel Borlase, Shyla Heal, Tiana Mangakahia, Lauren Nicholson, Steph Reid and Maddy Rocci. Madgen is the only one from this group of nine guards that was a member of the Australian Opals bronze medal winning team at the 2022 World Cup so competition for guard spots on the Opals team is wide open. The eight frontcourt players are Zitina Aokuso, Chloe Bibby, Sara Blicavs, Keely Froling, Darcee Garbin, Nyadiew Puoch, Lauren Scherf and Marianna Tolo. Blicavs, Garbin and Tolo were members of the Opals 2022 World Cup team.

2023 NBL1 North season with Cairns Dolphins

For the 2023 NBL1 season Swain returned to the Cairns Dolphins, a club she had represented throughout her junior career and also at senior level during the 2019 Queensland Basketball League season.At a Cairns Dolphins press conference on 23 March Dolphins Head Coach Sam Gruggen commented on Swain “Shaneice, her unique ability to finish at the rim, hit the three, get downhill, set up plays for other people, her tenacity on defense is great as well, she can pick up in the full-court.”

During the press conference Swain commented on playing for Cairns Dolphins again “Super excited, it has been a long time since I have been back home and played for my home club so I am super excited to play this season for Cairns. Because I have been away for so long in Canberra I have just wanted to come home and play. Thinking ahead I could be away playing overseas and all that so just wanted to come home and play for a season or two. Coming home and playing in front of my friends, family, all that, being home is just the best feeling.”

At the press conference Gruggen was asked “A lot has been made of bridging the gap between junior and senior basketball in Cairns, how important is it to have someone like Shaneice who came through the system, represented the Dolphins and is showing the pathway?” Gruggen responded “It is vastly important, for the younger girls coming through who we have in our team to see Shaneice go away and come back and represent Cairns again is fantastic for those players to see. Hopefully just further pushes our chances for a WNBL team in the near future.”

16 year old guard Teyahna Bond is following a similar pathway to Swain, having progressed through the ranks of the Cairns Dolphins juniors and has represented Queensland North at Australian Junior Championships in the under 16’s and under 18’s. At senior level Bond made her NBL1 North debut with Cairns in 2022 and is starting for the Dolphins alongside Swain in 2023.

In the Cairns Dolphins opening game of the 2023 NBL1 North season on the road against Townsville Flames on 26 March the Dolphins starters were Swain, Bond, Myra Donkin, Taylor Mole and Penina Davidson. Guard Donkin was a playing Head Coach of the Cairns Dolphins in the first two NBL1 North seasons in 2021 and 2022, led the club for assists per game in 2021 and ranked third in this category in 2022. In 2022 Davidson ranked second for Cairns in points and rebounds per game behind Melbourne Boomers teammate and Australian Opal Cayla George. Forward/centre Davidson has played five WNBL seasons and has represented the New Zealand Tall Ferns for a decade. Mole grew up in Hobart and after playing three seasons of college basketball in the USA for UC Santa Barbara from 2020/21 to 2022/23 is playing her first NBL1 North season with Cairns in 2023.

Playing for Cairns Dolphins in their 2023 NBL1 North season opener Swain scored 27 points, took four rebounds, made two assists and blocked a game-high three shots in a 98-80 victory against reigning champions Townsville Flames on 26 March at Townsville StarFM Stadium. Swain made eight of 14 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 57.1%, made a game-high four three-pointers from eight attempts at 50% and made all seven free-throw attempts.

In a road game against Gold Coast Rollers on 21 April at Carrara Stadium Swain fell one assist shy of a triple double in Cairns’ 74-63 victory. Swain scored a team-high 25 points, took 15 rebounds, made a game-high nine assists and a team-high four steals. Swain made an equal game-high three three-pointers from eight attempts at an accuracy of 37.5%.

In the second games of Cairns’ Round 4 road triple on Saturday 22 April Swain scored a game-high 34 points, took four rebounds, made six assists and two steals in an 81-80 victory against the North Gold Coast Seahawks at Runaway Bay Stadium. Swain made 13 of 25 field goal attempts at an accuracy of 52% and made a game-high five three-pointers from 11 attempts at 45.5%.

After Round 5 of the 2023 NBL1 North season the Cairns Dolphins are in ninth position on the ladder out of 16 teams with a record of three wins and four losses. Cairns play their final game of the 16 Round 2023 NBL1 North regular season on 15 July with a home game against USC Rip City at Early Settler Stadium.

Swain has played five games for the Cairns Dolphins in 2023 and is averaging 23.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.0 three-pointers made per game. Swain leads Cairns for points, assists, steals and three-pointers made per game and ranks second for rebounds and blocked shots behind Davidson. Swain is one of four Dolphins averaging more than 10.0 points per game, being joined in this category by Davidson (19.9 points per game), Mole (13.7) and Bond (11.0). Among players that have played multiple games Swain ranks second in the NBL1 North conference for points per game, third for three-pointers made per game and 10^th for assists.

Epilogue

Shaneice Swain was born and raised in Cairns, Queensland and commenced her junior basketball career at the Cairns Basketball Association. Swain’s basketball talent quickly came to the fore and in the under 14’s Shaneice wanted to see where the sport could take her. Swain progressed through the junior pathway and impressed playing for the Queensland North under 16’s team at the 2017 and 2018 Australian Junior Championships.

On the eve of the 2019 under 18’s AJC in mid-April Swain stated that her goals were to earn a scholarship with the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence and play in the WNBL and WNBA. As a bottom-age player in Queensland North’s under 18’s team at the 2019 AJC Swain was a standout, leading the tournaments for points per game and ranked equal second for three-pointers made.

Swain was a member of Australian teams that won gold medals at the 2018 FIBA Under 15 Women’s Oceania Championship and the 2019 FIBA Under 17 Women’s Oceania Championship. In mid-2019 Swain commenced a scholarship with the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence in Canberra. In her mid-teens Swain had to overcome adversity, suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injury. Despite this major setback Swain was a starter at 17 years of age on the Australian Gems silver medal winning team at the 2021 FIBA Under 19 Women’s World Cup held in Hungary.

At senior level Swain has played in state leagues for Cairns Dolphins in 2019 and 2023, Mackay Meteorettes in 2022 and represented the BA CoE in 2021. Playing for Cairns Dolphins in the current 2023 season Swain ranks second in the NBL1 North conference for points per game and third for three-pointers made per game.

At 18 years of age Swain got a taste of the WNBL, playing five games as a guard for the University of Canberra Capitals late in the 2021/22 WNBL season. Swain made a meteoric rise in 2022/23 to rank fourth in the WNBL for steals per game, ninth for three-pointers made, 12^th for field goals made and 15^th for points per game. Incredible achievements considering Swain entered the 2022/23 season having played five WNBL games and less than 45 minutes in the league in her career. Swain’s superb 2022/23 WNBL season with the UC Capitals earnt her selection in the Australian Opals 2023 extended squad.

Playing for the World Select women’s team Swain excelled at the Nike Hoops Summit to score a team-high 19 points against USA on 8 April 2023 in Portland, Oregon. Two days later Swain was selected by the Los Angeles Sparks early in the second round with pick 14 overall at the 2023 WNBA Draft. 19 year old Swain will continue playing in Australia for the Cairns Dolphins during the 2023 NBL1 North season and will join the LA Sparks in a future WNBA season.

Swain is a proud Yupangathi and Gangalidda/Gooreng Gooreng woman and was able to represent her culture during the WNBL’s first two Indigenous Rounds in 2021/22 and 2022/23. Although still a teenager herself Swain is already a role model and has demonstrated that it is possible to make it to the WNBL and WNBA regardless of the size of the city or town you grew up in.

15 months ago Shaneice Swain was yet to make her WNBL debut. The following month Swain achieved a goal by making her WNBL debut with the UC Capitals in March 2022. In her first full WNBL season Swain made a significant impact with the UC Capitals in 2022/23 to rank in the league’s top 15 in several categories. It is a tremendous achievement by Swain to overcome the setback of injuring her ACL at 16 years of age and be recruited by WNBA club Los Angeles Sparks at the earliest stage possible in her career. Swain’s game has developed rapidly in the past 15 months and the ability to continue playing in Australia and working on her game in the WNBL and playing for Cairns Dolphins in the NBL1 North conference will have her better prepared for when she joins a Los Angeles Sparks training camp for a future WNBA season.

Article and photographs by Dean Andrews

Twitter – @DeanAndrews7777

References

1 https://sparks.wnba.com/news/los-angeles-sparks-draft-zia-cooke-10th-overall-in-the-2023-wnba-draft/

2 https://sparks.wnba.com/news/sparks-announce-2023-training-camp-roster/

3 https://wnbl.basketball/uc-capitals/news/shaneice-swain-on-her-visit-to-the-nt-as-part-of-cygnett-wnbl-indigenous-round/

4 https://nit.com.au/12-04-2023/5576/it-just-comes-natural-shaneice-swains-former-coaches-unsurprised-by-her-wnba-draft-selection

5 https://wnbl.basketball/uc-capitals/news/shaneice-swain-on-her-visit-to-the-nt-as-part-of-cygnett-wnbl-indigenous-round/

6 https://www.spartansbasketball.net.au/shaniece-swain-leading-queensland-norths-home-town-medal-tilt/

7 https://www.spartansbasketball.net.au/shaniece-swain-leading-queensland-norths-home-town-medal-tilt/

8 https://australia.basketball/coe-name-three-new-scholarship-holders-to-womens-program/

9 https://australia.basketball/centre-of-excellence-coe/