Tall Fern becomes a Wolf!

Oaklands Wolves have announced New Zealand Tall Fern Ella Fotu to the roster for the 2024/25 season!

Hot off the plane from representing New Zealand in the World Cup pre-qualifying tournament in Mexico City, Fotu arrives as the fifth player announcement for the Wolves team for the upcoming campaign. The 5’9 versatile guard demonstrated her skill set in the 3 games with the Tall Ferns; averaging 25.5 minutes per game and serving up 6.3 points and 1.7 assists. Fotu has represented her country in 5v5 and 3X3 basketball since 2019.

A graduate of Massey University, Auckland NZ. Fotu also spent time in the US college system, first at Boise State University before moving onto Hawaii Pacific, where in the 2017/18 season she averaged 8.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 24 minutes of action for the Sharks. Fotu arrives to the SLB as her first experience of playing in Europe, a duel passport holder the player had this to say about getting the experience to play in the UK, “It has always been a goal to return to the ‘motherland’ and play, Oaklands have given me the perfect opportunity to do it, and to play in the first season of the new SLB is great. I’m so excited to start with the Wolves.”

An experience campaigner in the Australian and New Zealand leagues, last season in Australia Fotu was a key signing for Kalamunda Eastern Suns. In NBL One West she averaged 31 minutes per game and put up 13.3 points off 47% shooting to go with 3.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.6 steals for the Suns.

Her versatility in league play is what caught the eye of coach Ryan, “Ella is great pick up for us, she is what Oaklands guard play is all about - tough, skilled and position-less. I love the fact she has experience in both formats of the game with her national team,, it will give us the ability to use her in many different ways across the season. She has a great character and will slot right in with our culture and ethos at Oaklands.”

Check back in later today for another announcement!

Portuguese power added to front court!

Oaklands Wolves have announced their 4th signing with the addition of Lavinia Da Silva.

Da Silva, a 6’2 forward, is no stranger to the SuperLeague having previously played for Brixton, Barking and most recently Sevenoaks Suns. With the Suns in the 2020/21 season she accounted for 10.5 ppg and 7.6 rpg playing a key part in a table topping season.

The veteran forward will add superior leadership to the Wolves roster, boasting stops in the top leagues of Portugal, Italy, Iceland, Luxembourg and Switzerland on her impressive resume. Last season Da Silva played Eurocup action with T71 Dudelange; averaging 7.8 ppg and 4.3 rpg before making the move to the Swiss league in December.

She joined Nyon Basket Feminin where she put up 11 ppg and 6 rpg which helped them finish runners up in the SBL.

Da Silva’s playing pedigree doesn’t end there. A vastly experienced national teams player, Da Silva made her senior debut in 2015 and has over 9 years of experience of international competitions with her country.

Something Coach Ryan reflected on “Lavinia has seen it all and been very successful everywhere she has been. This signing signifies the growth of our team and we are very excited to add her to the roster and draw on all her experience in the season ahead. Her game suits what we are building at Oaklands; a forward who can play inside and out and has the skills to be used in multiple situations. A super talent and personality she will be bringing a lot to our program!”

You can follow Da Silva and the rest of the Wolves team in action as they open the season in the Trophy group games on Sunday September 29th at 6pm at Oaklands College SportsZone.

Stay tuned for more signings!

Wolves ready for the Battle!!

Oaklands Wolves announce their third signing of the summer with the arrival of Terri Battle.

The Chicago native joins the Hertfordshire franchise to add some power to their front court. Battle has amassed great experience in a short time as she looks to make the jump up to the British game, something she is very excited about, she said “I’m very excited to be coming to the UK to play in the league! It’s been one of my dream places to play and I actually followed the WBBL (as it was then) throughout my time in college. I’m really grateful to Oaklands and coach Ryan for seeing the potential in me and giving me the opportunity to play in this great league.”

A 6’2 forward who graduated at the university of Tampa, Battle also played college ball at Bowling Green State University before transferring to Tampa for her sophmore year.

After a solid college career, Battle has flourished in the pro game; with spells in Finland, Turkey and most recently the Bulgarian NBL where she averaged 14.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game shooting just shy of 60% from the field.

Coach Ryan had this to say about the addition “There is a lot to love about Terri’s game! She is a warrior and you can see her passion for the sport every time she steps on the court. She will be a handful in the paint and will really help us with rebounding and scoring in that area, something we have needed to improve on in recent seasons. She is very enthusiastic about the league and we are equally so in bringing her in and working with her to develop her game further.”

Stay tuned for more announcements in the coming days