By Colin MacGillivray
GUN Wallan basketballer Maddy Ford has her sights set high as she prepares to join the United States’ top collegiate competition.
Ford has committed to joining the University of Evansville Purple Aces in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s, NCAA, division one women’s basketball competition, and said she viewed it as a stepping stone to a possible professional career.
“I’m stoked. This has always been my dream since I was five years old playing at Wallan,” she said.
“Being a professional basketball player has been my other dream.
“Getting to college was first, and now I’m going to do that, so playing in either the [Women’s National Basketball Association] or the [Australian women’s national team] in the years to come are achievements that I want to pursue.”
The 18-year-old earned a scholarship to play for Evansville after sitting the American SAT college entry examination and sending highlight reels of herself to prospective universities.
She said Evansville was an attractive destination because the team already had two Australian players – Elly Morgan and Kodie Myszka – on its roster, as well as assistant coach Tori Jarosz who played professionally in Australia.
“The coaches over there were part of what attracted me,” Ford said.
“To have a coach who played over here in Australia is a big bonus, and there are two Australian players already over there from Melbourne. That made the choice to go there a bit easier.”
Ford, a 183-centimetre guard, captained an Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup representative team during a tour of New Zealand in 2019.
She played junior basketball in Wallan before transferring to the Sunbury Basketball Association at under 14 level.
Ford now plays for Bendigo in the Australian NBL1 competition and Seymour Blasters during the summer Country Basketball League competition.
She said she would hit the ground running when she joined Evansville in May next year.
“I’ll definitely bring aggression, I’m very competitive and I want to win,” she said.
“I feel like I’m a leader on the court as well, so I feel like that’s what I’ll bring to the team.”
