ONE OF the most exciting young talents in Australian basketball is Isobel Borlase, and she will be returning to play a crucial role for the Adelaide Lightning in the upcoming Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) season.

Despite being just 20 years of age, Borlase is the most important player on Adelaide’s roster, and has emerged as a star of women’s basketball during the early stages of her career. She has already donned the Green and Gold for Australia and was selected in the WNBA draft by the Atlanta Dream.

Speaking with Rookie Me Central during the WNBL season launch at Australia’s first concept Foot Locker store in Melbourne Central, Borlase says she is excited to be back in front of a home crowd on familiar shores.

“I love being home,” she said. “I think Adelaide is my favourite team to play for, and I love playing with all the girls I get to play with. I am super excited to see what we can do and I am just happy to be home.”

The Lightning missed out on the postseason last year, finishing in seventh place with a record of eight wins and 13 losses, a record that was boosted with some increased form late in the fixture, although the damage was already done.

However, Borlase says the team is excited by the opportunity to return to the finals, and is keen to play a crucial role in getting Adelaide past the final round of the home and away season.

“Obviously we finished off the season with a couple of wins which was good,” Borlase said. “It will be great having Stephanie Talbot back as well, and I would love to see us in the postseason.

“I think there are some girls in our team who deserve it. They have had long careers in this league and they haven’t reached the top so I would love to help them get there. We also just got our import in Brianna Turner, so we will look to get some reps in with her over the coming days, and I am super excited for the season.”

Fresh off an Opals campaign and a finish in the WNBL First Team, Borlase has enjoyed a whirlwind start to her career, having burst onto the scene as an exciting basketball talent almost immediately, and admits it has all happened a lot faster than she was expecting.

“It’s crazy,” she said. “I definitely would not have expected any of this to happen so fast. So many things have happened that people work their whole lives for and has just happened. I really can’t believe it.”

Borlase has already reached the pinnacle of the female basketball mountain, being selected in the second round of the WNBA, joining several other Aussies at the top level, and understands how significant the moment was when her name was called.

“I think lots of girls work their whole life to hear their name called out, and I had all my special people in one room,” she said. “We were watching TV on the couch and I think having my name called out with everyone there was really special. I also think its amazing that I am going to Atlanta.”

Borlase recently saw her Opals coach in Sandy Brondello lead the New York Liberty to the WNBA championship, and says it put into perspective how strongly Australian basketball is progressing.

“I think the WNBA is the best league in the world, and we are so fortunate that Sandy is our National team coach,” she said. “She has just coached the best team in the WNBA to a championship, and not many people get that level of coaching, so I think it is really cool that Australia has her to lead us.

“It was also cool to see Alanna Smith play against the Liberty for the Minnesota Lynx, I think Australian basketball is everywhere at the moment, and it is great to see.”

Borlase will bring plenty of experience back to the Lightning this season, having played with Australia’s best at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in recent months. The young gun lit up the court whenever she was given minutes, and certainly helped the Aussies secure a bronze medal, while also demonstrating how bright the future is for the Opals.

Now returning to Adelaide as a more experienced player, Borlase says she learnt plenty from her time donning the Green and Gold.

“There was lots of things I learnt,” she said. “You’ve got to look after the ball, being tidy on every possession is super important at that level. I gained a lot of respect for a lot of my teammates too. I was not playing as much as them, and I had to work my way into a new role which was challenging, I won’t lie.

“I had never been in that position before, and it was tough at times, but I gained a lot of respect for my teammates given we were battling day in, day out together.”

It will be a tight competition this season, but the Lightning are certainly one of many contenders to book a finals spot. Borlase flagged Isabelle Bourne as a key in shaping Adelaide’s success and one for fans to watch. Bourne enjoyed a strong season last year, and has been one of the standouts throughout preseason and could take her game to the next level.

With Borlase set to only get better after some experience at WNBA and international level and a strong off-season that saw some excellent talent join the roster, the Lightning will be looking to build on their strong finish to last season and make a return to the finals.

They will play their first game on Saturday November 2, when they travel to Victoria to take on the Bendigo Spirit.

ADELAIDE LIGHTNING ROSTER

Brianna Turner, Brooke Basham, Ella Gordon, Georgia Pineau, Haylee Andrews, Isabelle Bourne, Isobel Borlase, Japreece Dean, Madison Freer, Steph Talbot, Tayla Brazel