Launceston's Micah Simpson will continue her involvement in the Women's National Basketball League, re-signing with the Bendigo Spirit as a development player.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
After an injury-interrupted first season with the top-tier outfit, the 20-year-old guard was pleased to be invited back for their upcoming campaign.
"I broke my wrist [for the Tornadoes in 2022], so I rehabbed from that and got back healthy and then I hurt my back," she said.
"It was very up and down, so when I came home at the end of last WNBL season, I rehabbed a lot - I still am actually, just incorporating those exercises into my program - but I'm feeling really good at the moment.
"To still be invited back is really exciting and from what we've had in pre-season so far, we've got a really good group that could play deep into finals."
![Micah Simpson in action for the Tornadoes last season. Picture by Paul Scambler Micah Simpson in action for the Tornadoes last season. Picture by Paul Scambler](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/8mt7fPj3AeZSAF4grZ2EUc/ad371b94-2fbc-40e0-a427-ef67606b12af.jpg/r2055_0_6085_3881_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Throughout the pre-season, Simpson and the Spirit side travelled to South Korea, playing in the Park Shin-Ja Cup.
They were among 10 teams from four different countries - Australia, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines - competing at the tournament, finishing with three wins and two losses.
"I've never played international basketball before and that was a little taste of it," Simpson said.
"They're obviously very, very fast, so that was a big challenge for me but one that I think our team embraced and just tried to play to our strengths, which were our height and poise.
"That was an unreal experience, even the off-field stuff - the culture, the food, the buildings - so I'm very grateful for that opportunity."
The former Riverside High School student believes she thrives in the competitive environment of the WNBL and enjoyed that side of things in her first season at the club.
She was able to take those lessons learned into her NBL1 campaign with the Launceston Tornadoes, averaging 9.5 points and 3.7 assists en route to winning the side's players' player award for the second year in a row.
"I knew what I was good at earlier and then when I was injured, I had that taken away from me, so I had to try and improve in all areas of my game," she said.
"If I wasn't having a good shooting night, couldn't score or find my teammates, I was able to be a good team defender or step up as a leader and make the right play calls."
"[The NBL1 season] was good for finding different areas of the game that I could improve to strengthen my game overall."
The Spirit's WNBL season starts in November, with finals going through to March.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.examiner.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @examineronline
- Follow us on Instagram: @examineronline
- Follow us on Google News: The Examiner