The Perth WNBL team have gone from being the West Coast Waves to become the Perth Lynx… again!
After having a very low success rate from 2002-2009 under the Perth Lynx name, the team had a complete overhaul and was re-branded as West Coast Waves in 2010. The team name, team colours and uniform were all re-invented in hopes of a fresh start. Unfortunately the drastic changes couldn’t improve the team’s on-court success, finishing bottom of the ladder for the last three seasons.
In April 2015, the owner and chairman of the Perth Wildcats, Dr Jack Bendat, bought the West Australian Women’s National Basketball franchise. The team was renamed back to Perth Lynx to establish the link between the WA men’s and women’s teams, and the Lynx have adapted the same colour scheme and similar uniform as the Wildcats.
With a new vision in mind, Perth Lynx will hopefully be following the same path as the extremely successful Perth Wildcats. The women’s team has recently had former Wildcats assistant coach Andy Stewart appointed as head coach. With the team under new management we will undoubtedly see a rise in memberships and crowds at Perth home games.
The team has been on a recruiting rampage and has managed to secure some incredible Australian and overseas talent in the bid for a 2016 WNBL Championship. The team currently includes West Coast Waves Best Defensive Player Louella Tomlinson, Australian Opals star Nat Burton and sharp-shooting American guard Sami Whitcomb. The team has also welcomed Carley Mijovic who was pick 30 in the 2014 WNBA draft, SEABL All-Star Izzy Chilcott, forward/guard Klara Wischer and the most recent recruit is shooting guard Stacey Barr.
