Elli ready for big year with Lynx

A BREAKOUT 2018 SEABL campaign with Launceston has landed emerging Tasmanian basketball talent Ellie Collins a WNBL contract.

Collins, who was part of the Hobart Chargers squad which claimed the historic South Conference crown in 2014, has spent the past two campaigns with the Tornadoes after moving north for University, where she has been studying teaching.

She has blossomed from role player off the bench into an important starting-five cog, and her impressive season with the beaten finalists has resulted in the Perth Lynx swooping.

The 19-year-old averaged 16.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, two assists and 1.3 blocks in 23 matches for Launceston, including a team-high 26 points, six rebounds and three blocks in the grand final loss to Bendigo last month.

She joined her new teammates — including a familiar face in fellow Tornado Lauren Mansfield — late last week, with the club formally announcing it had signed the teenager on Monday.

“I put a lot of work into my game in pre-season. At the start of the year I wrote down my goals, some of them minor which lead to the big goal of making a WNBL squad,” Collins, pictured, told the Mercury.

“This SEABL season showed me that hard work and making the most of your opportunities really does pay off.

“It’s exactly what I plan on doing in my first WNBL season, working hard and taking every opportunity I get.

“The Perth Lynx have amazing facilities and the culture and professionalism of the club is next level. I am so excited to work hard and take my game to another level.

“Obviously I want to play minutes, but either way being in an environment where everyone is pushing each other, it’s going to make me better.”

Collins, who started her basketball journey with Cavaliers as a junior and then the Southern Wolves in Hobart, spent the majority of the SEABL year playing as centre, but is likely to slot into a small or power forward role with the Lynx. Perth opens its WNBL campaign on October 13 at home against the Adelaide Lightning.