WNBA star Alanna Smith says the Tasmania Jewels’ training facilities “sets a precedent for sports in not only Tassie but Australia”, as the team prepares for its first WNBL game tonight.
The Jewels will take on Geelong Venom at MyState Bank Arena at 7pm in front of a sell-out crowd of more than 4,200 people.
Smith, an ambassador for the Jewels, today checked out the high performance facility in Kingston where the Jewels and JackJumpers train.
She said it was “up there” with some of the places she had trained in the WNBA.
“I think the resources and the facilities are the best of the best, so you can kind of expect good things to come out of this place, I think,” she said.
The game is also a family occasion for the forward. Development player Andie Smith has been elevated into the Jewels’ roster to replace import Madina Okot, who remains in the United States with her WNBA team.
Smith said she was grateful to be there in person for her sister’s first professional game.
“She’s got huge potential and this is just the start for her,” she said.
She said it felt “surreal” to see the club take the court, remembering a time “when the Jewels was just an idea kind of floating around and now it’s reality”.
“I’m so excited and I’m just so proud of everybody involved getting it off the ground,” she said.
Smith has returned home after her first season with Dallas, which she described as “a rocky one” for her personally because of injury. The team made the playoffs and she was aiming for a championship next season.
In 2025, while playing for the Minnesota Lynx, she was named co-recipient of the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year award.
On tonight’s game, Smith said it was hard to come together as a team that was also new to the league.
“I think they’ve got the tools to be really good,” she said.
Jewels head coach Claudia Brassard said the team had worked hard during a six-week pre-season.
“If we come out how we have been preparing in training in the past weeks, we should be a good chance of winning,” Brassard said.
Tasmania Jewels take on Geelong Venom at 7pm tonight at MyState Bank Arena. It is live on 9Now, ESPN via Disney+, WNBL.com.au and the WNBL App.
