By JARROD POTTER
RELISHING her chance to shine in the starting five has paid off for Dandenong Rangers guard Aimie Clydesdale, with her selection in an extended Australian Opals squad.
Clydesdale, 21, from Endeavour Hills, has excelled in her limited time in the Rangers’ WNBL starting five after a horror knee injured sidelined regular point guard Kathleen Macleod, and on the back of her WNBL success has earned a spot in the Opals Rio Qualifiers squad.
She has averaged 6.3 points per game since her elevation to the starting roster, with a best haul of 13 points, seven rebounds against Adelaide earlier this season.
Trying to find the perfect line-up ahead of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, the Opals coaching staff has whittled down the names from internationals and WNBL players to find the best 34 ahead of the 2016 games.
Clydesdale – alongside Rangers’ team mate Lauren Scherf – signal the next generation of Opals’ talent as head coach Brendan Joyce balances youth and experience in the squad.
Sporting a mix of established Opals stars with Olympic experience and emerging young talent, head coach Brendan Joyce said that it was important to select a squad that could carry the momentum built at the World Championships.
“It is an exciting time for the Jayco Opals as we begin our preparation for the Olympic qualification and the Olympic games in Rio 2016,” Opals head coach Brendan Joyce said.
“Once again we have named an extended squad to build towards the Rio Olympics, this was proven to be successful for our World Championship campaign, building depth and competition in the squad.”
Former Dandenong Ranger and current Townsville Fire guard Steph Cumming, also from Endeavour Hills, earned her selection in the 34-player extended squad as well.
Rounding off the local talent in the roster is one of Australia’s best basketballers in Penny Taylor, who originally came from Belgrave South, and has been in elite form for Dandenong this season since arriving mid-way through the WNBL campaign.
A shortened squad of a maximum of 24 players for the upcoming camp at the Basketball Australia National Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Canberra will be announced this week.
The Olympic qualifiers will be played in August.
