Perth Lynx | |
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Leagues | WNBL |
Founded | 1988 |
History | Perth Breakers 1988β2001 Perth Lynx 2001β2010; 2015βpresent West Coast Waves 2010β2015 |
Arena | Bendat Basketball Centre |
Capacity | 2,000 |
Location | Perth, Western Australia |
Team colors | Red and black |
Main sponsor | Northern Star Resources |
CEO | Christian Hauff (managing director) |
General manager | Samantha Macpherson |
Head coach | Ryan Petrik |
Ownership | Perth Lynx Pty Ltd |
Championships | 1 ( 1992) |
Website | wnbl.basketball/perth/ |
The Perth Lynx are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Bendat Basketball Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Northern Star Resources Perth Lynx.
The Lynx were established in 1988 as the Perth Breakers. After being owned and operated by Basketball Western Australia from 2001 to 2015, the Perth Wildcats took over ownership and operation of the team for a period of five years. In 2020, the licence was transferred back to Basketball Western Australia. In 2024, the licence was transferred to a new holder, Perth Lynx Pty Ltd, which is owned by Perth business couple Christian Hauff and Jodi Millhahn. The Lynx have reached six WNBL Grand Finals, winning their only championship in 1992.
In 1986, a Perth women's basketball team known as the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) Rockets entered the Women's Basketball Conference (WBC), a second-tier national league under the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). [1] [2] The state was told the only way they would be admitted to the WNBL was if the WAIS Rockets won the 1987 WBC title. The Rockets played all of their games away from home including finals, beating the Forestville Eagles in overtime to advance to the grand final, where they won the title 56β47 against the Knox Raiders. [3] The team featured Tanya Fisher and Cheryl Kickett-Tucker. [3]
The franchise debuted in the WNBL in 1988 as the Perth Breakers. After withdrawing midway through their second season in 1989, [4] [5] the Breakers returned to action in 1990. [6] The team appeared in the WNBL finals every year between 1991 and 2000 except 1997, making grand final appearances in 1992, 1993 and 1999. [6]
In the 1992 season, the Breakers won the WNBL championship behind captain Michele Timms and coach Tom Maher, along with Tanya Fisher, Natasha Bargeus, Lisa MacLean, Marynne Briggs and Marianna Vlahov. [7]
In 2001, the franchise came under the ownership of Basketball Western Australia. [8] The team name was subsequently changed to Perth Lynx and remained as such until 2010. [8]
After finishing last on the ladder in the 2009β10 WNBL season with a 2β20 record, the team was rebranded as the West Coast Waves for the 2010β11 WNBL season. The change symbolised the reinvigoration of the Basketball WA program under experienced head coach David Herbert and home-grown legend Tully Bevilaqua, and gave a nod to the team's history with the reintroduction of the black, green and gold colours. The Waves also debuted at the newly opened WA Basketball Centre. [9] [10] [11]
In 14 seasons under Basketball WA, the team failed to make a finals appearance. [6]
In April 2015, the team's licence was purchased by the Perth Wildcats and their chairman and owner Jack Bendat. The Wildcats subsequently brought back the Perth Lynx brand name and red colour. [8] [12] [13]
In the 2015β16 season, the Lynx qualified for the finals for the first time since 2000. [14] They went on to reach the grand final, their first since 1999, [15] where they lost 2β0 to the Townsville Fire. [16] [17]
In the 2017β18 season, the Lynx won 14 consecutive games throughout the season and finished on top of the ladder, before losing four matches in a row after enduring seven flights in eight days. They lost to Canberra and Townsville in the final weekend of the regular season and were then swept 2β0 by fourth-placed Melbourne in the semi-finals. [18] [19]
In March 2018, the licence agreement with the Wildcats was extended. [20]
In March 2020, the Perth Lynx's WNBL licence was transferred back to Basketball WA. [21] [22]
In the 2021β22 season, the Lynx finished in second place with an 11β5 record and reached the grand final, [23] [24] [25] [26] where they lost the series 2β1 to the Melbourne Boomers despite winning game one in Melbourne. [27]
In the 2023β24 season, the Lynx finished in fourth place with an 11β10 record and defeated the first-placed Townsville Fire in the semi-finals to reach their second grand final series in three years. [28] [29] [30] The Lynx won 101β79 in game one of the grand final series against the Southside Flyers. They became only the second team to ever score 100 points in a WNBL grand final and finished the game with 22 three-pointers. [31] [32] [33] They went on to finish runners-up after losing game two 97β95 [34] [35] and game three 115β81. [36] [37] [38]
In May 2024, Perth business couple Christian Hauff and Jodi Millhahn were revealed as the front runners to take over ownership of the Perth Lynx from Basketball WA. [39] [40] [41] On 13 June 2024, the Lynx's WNBL licence was transferred to Perth Lynx Pty Ltd, owned by Hauff and Millhahn, with management and operational support from Sports Entertainment Group's sporting teams business, SEN Teams. [42] [43] [44] The move re-aligned the Lynx with the Perth Wildcats through SEN Teams. [45]
Season | Standings | Regular season | Finals | Head coach | ||
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W | L | PCT | ||||
Perth Breakers | ||||||
1988 | 9th | 6 | 16 | .273 | Did not qualify | Dave Hancock |
1989 | Withdrew midseason [4] [5] | Dave Hancock | ||||
1990 | 8th | 10 | 14 | .417 | Did not qualify | Don Sheppard |
1991 | 3rd | 15 | 7 | .682 | Won Semi-final (
North Adelaide, 82β72) Lost Preliminary Final (Hobart, 74β61) |
Don Sheppard |
1992 | 1st | 17 | 3 | .850 | Won Semi-final (
Melbourne, 54β52) Won Grand Final ( Dandenong, 58β54) |
Tom Maher |
1993 | 3rd | 12 | 6 | .667 | Won Semi-final (
Dandenong, 83β68) Won Preliminary Final ( Adelaide, 68β66) Lost Grand Final ( Sydney, 65β64) |
Guy Molloy |
1994 | 4th | 12 | 6 | .667 | Won Semi-final (
Sydney, 62β58) Lost Preliminary Final ( Melbourne, 74β64) |
Guy Molloy |
1995 | 4th | 12 | 6 | .667 | Lost Semi-final ( Melbourne, 60β39) | Guy Molloy |
1996 | 4th | 11 | 7 | .611 | Won Qualifying Final (Brisbane, 95β62) Won Semi-final ( Bulleen, 75β58) Lost Preliminary Final ( Adelaide, 87β55) |
Guy Molloy |
1997 | 8th | 5 | 13 | .278 | Did not qualify | Murray Treseder |
1998 | 3rd | 8 | 4 | .667 | Lost Semi-final ( AIS, 84β70) | Murray Treseder |
1998β99 | 2nd | 14 | 7 | .667 | Lost Semi-final (
AIS, 81β62) Won Preliminary Final ( Adelaide, 67β46) Lost Grand Final ( AIS, 88β79) |
Murray Treseder |
1999β00 | 4th | 11 | 10 | .524 | Lost Semi-final ( Bulleen, 61β60) | Murray Treseder |
2000β01 | 7th | 4 | 17 | .190 | Did not qualify | James Crawford |
Perth Lynx | ||||||
2001β02 | 7th | 4 | 17 | .190 | Did not qualify | Rick Morcom |
2002β03 | 7th | 6 | 15 | .286 | Did not qualify | Rick Morcom |
2003β04 | 8th | 0 | 21 | .000 | Did not qualify | Murray Treseder |
2004β05 | 8th | 1 | 20 | .048 | Did not qualify | Craig Friday |
2005β06 | 7th | 4 | 17 | .190 | Did not qualify | Paul O'Brien |
2006β07 | 7th | 3 | 18 | .143 | Did not qualify | Paul O'Brien |
2007β08 | 10th | 5 | 19 | .208 | Did not qualify | Joe McKay |
2008β09 | 9th | 4 | 18 | .182 | Did not qualify | Joe McKay |
2009β10 | 9th | 2 | 20 | .091 | Did not qualify | Joe McKay / Vlad Alava |
West Coast Waves | ||||||
2010β11 | 8th | 8 | 14 | .364 | Did not qualify | David Herbert |
2011β12 | 9th | 2 | 20 | .091 | Did not qualify | David Herbert |
2012β13 | 9th | 4 | 20 | .167 | Did not qualify | Kennedy Kereama |
2013β14 | 9th | 1 | 23 | .042 | Did not qualify | Kennedy Kereama |
2014β15 | 8th | 4 | 18 | .182 | Did not qualify | Kennedy Kereama |
Perth Lynx | ||||||
2015β16 | 2nd | 16 | 8 | .667 | Won Semi-final (
Townsville, 91β72) Lost Grand Final ( Townsville, 0β2) |
Andy Stewart |
2016β17 | 3rd | 15 | 9 | .625 | Lost Semi-final ( Dandenong, 1β2) | Andy Stewart |
2017β18 | 1st | 15 | 6 | .714 | Lost Semi-final ( Melbourne, 0β2) | Andy Stewart |
2018β19 | 4th | 13 | 8 | .619 | Lost Semi-final ( Canberra, 0β2) | Andy Stewart |
2019β20 | 5th | 8 | 13 | .381 | Did not qualify | Andy Stewart |
2020 | 7th | 4 | 9 | .308 | Did not qualify | Ryan Petrik |
2021β22 | 2nd | 11 | 5 | .688 | Won Semi-final (
Canberra, 91β77) Lost Grand Final ( Melbourne, 1β2) |
Ryan Petrik |
2022β23 | 4th | 13 | 8 | .619 | Lost Semi-final ( Townsville, 0β2) | Ryan Petrik |
2023β24 | 4th | 11 | 10 | .524 | Won Semi-final (
Townsville, 2β0) Lost Grand Final ( Southside, 1β2) |
Ryan Petrik |
Regular season | 281 | 450 | .384 | 2 Minor Premierships | ||
Finals | 16 | 23 | .410 | 1 WNBL Championship |
Source: Year By Year
Perth Lynx roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated: 18 February 2024 |
WNBL Championships: | 1 (1992) |
WNBL Finals appearances: | 16 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024) |
WNBL Grand Final appearances: | 6 (1992, 1993, 1999, 2016, 2022, 2024) |
WNBL Grand Final MVPs: | Tanya Fisher (1992) |
All-WNBL First Team: | Michele Timms (1991, 1992, 1994), Gina Stevens (1996, 1999), Deanna Smith (2006, 2009), Carly Wilson (2007), Sami Whitcomb (2016, 2017, 2018, 2023), Courtney Williams (2018), Asia Taylor (2019), Katie-Rae Ebzery (2019β20, 2020), Jackie Young (2022) |
All-WNBL Second Team: | Marina Mabrey (2022), Lauren Scherf (2023), Aari McDonald (2024), Amy Atwell (2024) |
WNBL Coach of the Year: | Tom Maher (1992), Guy Molloy (1995), Andy Stewart (2016, 2018), Ryan Petrik (2022) |
WNBL Defensive Player of the Year: | Robyn Maher (1992), Tully Bevilaqua (1995, 1996, 1997, 2000) |
WNBL Sixth Woman of the Year: | Alison Schwagmeyer (2019β20) |
WNBL Leading Scorer: | Gina Stevens (1996), Deanna Smith (2006), Sami Whitcomb (2017), Asia Taylor (2019), Aari McDonald (2024) |
Retired numbers: | 4 β Tina Christie, 13 β Melissa McClure, 14 β Melissa Marsh, 41 β Tully Bevilaqua |
Source: Perth Lynx Achievements