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Cayla George

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Cayla George (née Francis; born 1 May 1989) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Sydney Flames of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She was a member of the Australian Women's basketball team (Opals) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The Opals were eliminated after losing to the USA in the quarterfinals.[1]

Cayla George
Cayla Francis, Jenna O'Hea and Marianna Tolo at the Opals May 2012 camp
No. 13 – Sydney Flames
PositionForward / center
LeagueWNBL
Personal information
Born (1989-05-01) 1 May 1989 (age 35)
Mount Barker, Australia
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight192 lb (87 kg)
Career information
Playing career2005–present
Career history
2005–2008Australian Institute of Sport
2008–2010Adelaide Lightning
2010–2012Logan Thunder
2012–2013Pays d'Aix Basket 13
2013–2014Nantes Rezé Basket
2014–2016Townsville Fire
2015Phoenix Mercury
2016–2017UNIQA Sopron
2017Phoenix Mercury
2017–2018Townsville Fire
2018Dallas Wings
2018–2023Melbourne Boomers
2023Las Vegas Aces
2023–presentSydney Flames
2024Cathay Life Tigers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Women’s basketball
Representing  Australia
FIBA World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2018 Spain
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Turkey
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Australia
FIBA Asia Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Bangalore
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast Team

Francis plays for the Melbourne Boomers of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). She has also played in several other leagues including the Central Australian Basketball League, SEABL, LFB and WNBL. She has represented South Australia in the National Junior Championships, winning a silver medal in the U18 Championships in 2005. In the WNBL, she has played for the Australian Institute of Sport, Adelaide Lightning, Logan Thunder and Townsville Fire. She plays center for the Opals, making her senior debut in 2008. She currently sits on the board of the Australian Basketball Players’ Association.[2]

Early life

Francis was born on 1 May 1989[3][4][5][6][7] in Mount Barker, South Australia.[5][6][7] Her mother, older sister and half sister live in South Australia,[3][4] while her father lives in Cairns.[3][4] She lived with her father in Fiji for four months during 2001.[3][4]

Francis is 194 centimetres (76 in) tall[8] The WNBL lists her height at 192 centimetres (76 in)[3][4] though The Advertiser of Adelaide, list her height as 193 centimetres (76 in)[9] and Logan Thunder and FIBA lists her height as 192 centimetres (76 in).[5][7]

Francis started out playing netball, but ultimately chose basketball because she preferred the contact aspect of the sport.[3][4]

Playing career

Francis played in the Central Australian Basketball League for the Eastern Mavericks. She was with the team for the 2007 season and went on to help her team win their first league championship in 2008. She was named the league's best and fairest, winning the Halls Medal. She was also named the league's player of the year in 2008. She averaged 22.4 points per game in 2008. She led the league that season in offensive rebounding with 4.8 per game. She also led the league in defensive rebounds per game with 14.2. She led in the rebounding category with 18.9 per game.[3][4][8][9][10]

In 2009, Francis played for the Ballarat Lady Miners in the SEABL.[3][4] In 2010, she played for the Sandringham Sabres in the SEABL.[3][4] In 2011, she played in the Queensland Basketball League for the Cairns Dolphins.[11] Her play with the team drew the attention the national selectors.[11][12] In the 2011 season, she was the player of the round in two separate weeks.[11] The first time was in round two.[13] The second time was in round four.[13] She was named a third time in round nine.[13] In an April 2011 game in the SEABL, she scored 26 points and had 16 rebounds.[14]

Francis earned a silver medal with South Australia Metro at the 2005 U18 National Junior Championships.[15] She participated in the U16 National Junior Championships in 2005, playing for South Australia Country.[15] In 2006, she participated in the U18 National Junior Championships for South Australia Country.[15] In 2006, she was named the South Australian Under 21 Player of the Year.[15] She has won the R.E. Staunton award winner for Female MVP at U20 National Championships in 2008.In 2019 she join the new Hobart women's team the Hobart Huskies for the first three game of the NBL1 season.

WNBL

 
no. 4 Cayla Francis up against Marianna Tolo in a game against the Canberra Capitals
 
no. 4 Cayla Francis leaps for the ball in a January 2012 game against the Canberra Capitals

Francis played for the Australian Institute of Sport team[8][16] for three years,[9][16] including for the 2005/2006 season.[3][4][15][16] In 2007, she won the WNBL Bettie Watson Rookie of the Year.[9][15] During the 2007/2008 season, her Australian Institute of Sport team won eight games.[9]

Francis signed with the Adelaide Lightning in 2008.[15] She played with the team[8] during the 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 seasons.[3][4] By November 2008 in the 2008/2009 season, she was averaging 16 points a game and 10.6 rebounds a game.[9] In a November 2008 90–62 win over the Australian Institute of Sport, she scored 17 points, and had 7 rebounds in the game.[17] In a November 2009 game against the Australian Institute of Sport which her won 100–77, while on the court 23:38 minutes, she scored 24 points and had a field goal percentage of 75%.[18] In an October 2009 game Adelaide won 75–66 against Dandenong, she had 26 points and 17 rebounds, and had a field goal percentage of 50%. She did not miss a single one of her free throw shots.[19]

Francis joined the Logan Thunder in 2010.[20] She played for them in 2010/2011 and 2011/2012.[3][4] In November 2011, she helped her team stage a come from behind victory against the West Coast Waves.[21] She wore no. 4 for the team.[7] In January 2012, she was one of three players seriously considered for player of the week but lost to American Shanavia Dowdell.[22]

Francis returned to the WNBL with the Townsville Fire in 2014.[23] George signed with the Melbourne boomers for the 2018/19 wnbl season

WNBA

On 4 February 2015, Francis signed with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury.[24] In February 2017, Francis was re-acquired by the Mercury.[25]

On 2 February 2018, George was traded to the Connecticut Sun.[26] On 16 May 2018, George was waived by the Connecticut Sun. On 3 June 2018, George was signed by the Dallas Wings.[27]

On 1 February 2023, George signed as a free agent with the Las Vegas Aces.[28]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

WNBA

† Denotes seasons in which George won a WNBA championship
Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2015 Phoenix 34 2 12.7 .427 .283 .864 3.1 0.7 0.4 0.6 0.8 5.0
2017 Phoenix 32 0 11.9 .376 .283 .643 2.7 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.5 3.3
2018 Dallas 23 1 10.7 .436 .308 .500 2.8 0.7 0.1 0.2 0.6 3.6
2023† Las Vegas 32 0 8.5 .288 .234 .000 1.8 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.8 2.3
Career 4 years, 3 teams 121 3 11.0 .384 .273 .689 2.6 0.6 0.3 0.4 0.7 3.6
Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2015 Phoenix 3 0 9.0 .375 .500 — 2.7 1.0 1.7 1.7 1.3 2.7
2017 Phoenix 2 0 0.5 .000 — — 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.5 0.0
2018 Dallas 1 0 5.0 .500 — — 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 4.0
2023† Las Vegas 8 1 6.0 .200 .250 1.000 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.0 0.4 1.6
Career 4 years, 3 teams 14 1 5.8 .273 .313 1.000 1.1 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.6 1.8

National team career

Francis plays center for the Opals.[6] She was a member of the 2008 Opals squad.[15] In late March, early April 2008, she participated in a week long training camp with the national team in Canberra.[29] In 2008, she had her first Opals cap in a game against New Zealand women's national basketball team.[3][4] She was a member of the 2009 Opals squad.[15] She was a member of the 2011 Opals squad and, as a member of the team, she earned a gold medal at the FIBA Oceania Championship.[15] In June 2011, she participated in a national team training camp in Canberra.[11] In late July 2011, she played in a three-game test series against China played in Queensland.[11] She was scheduled to participate in the national team training camp held from 14 to 18 May 2012 at the Australian Institute of Sport.[30]

Francis has also played for Australia's age restricted national sides. She has 31 caps for Australia's junior national team[3][4] and 14 appearances for the Young Australia team.[3][4] In 2006, as a member of the Gems, she participated in the Taipei hosted William Jones Cup.[15] In 2006, she was a member of Australia's Under-21 national team, the Sapphires.[15] As a member of the Australian team at the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women, she finished fifth.[3][4][15][31] She averaged 12.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game in the competition.[3][4] In the first-round game against Brazil, she scored 20 points, and went three for three in three-point range.[10] She also had 10 rebounds in the game against Brazil.[10] She averaged 21.1 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game and 0.3 assists per game.[5] She played 204 minutes in 9 games.[31] She made 43 out of 99 attempted field goals.[31] She was 14/16 at the free throw line.[31] She had 20 offensive rebounds and 44 defensive rebounds.[31] Francis earned a silver medal at the 2007 FIBA World Championship for Under 21 Women held in Moscow.[3][4][15] At the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship for Women, she averaged 8.6 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game and 0.5 assists per game.[5] In the competition, she wore number 11.[5] In 2011, she represented Australia at the World University Games.[3][4]

Francis, like all the other members of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Opals women's basketball team, had a difficult tournament. The Opals lost their first two group stage matches. They looked flat against Belgium and then lost to China in heartbreaking circumstances. In their last group match the Opals needed to beat Puerto Rico by 25 or more in their final match to progress. This they did by 27 in a very exciting match. However, they lost to the United States in their quarterfinal 79 to 55.[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Basketball GEORGE Cayla - Tokyo 2020 Olympics". olympics.com. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Leadership and Management". Australian Basketball Players' Association. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Logan Thunder: Cayla Francis". WNBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s chemosa. "Player statistics for Cayla Francis". SportingPulse. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Cayla Francis's profile | 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women | ARCHIVE.FIBA.COM". FIBA. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "Cayla Francis - 2012 London women | FIBA.COM". FIBA. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d "Logan Thunder: Team Roster". WNBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  8. ^ a b c d Nagy, Boti (10 August 2008). "Cayla Francis, Erik Burdon CABL's best and fairest". The Advertiser. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "It's history as Francis wins medal". Adelaide Advertiser. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  10. ^ a b c Nagy, Boti (27 July 2007). "Francis shines for Gems". The Advertiser. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Cayla Francis returns to Opals squad — Cairns Sports News". cairns.com.au. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  12. ^ Atkins, Sean (7 June 2011). "National Basketball League | Cairns Taipans: Cayla Francis returns to Opals squad". Nbl.com.au. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  13. ^ a b c "Basketball Queensland: Player of the Week". Queensland Basketball. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  14. ^ "Cayla Francis — ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Basketball Australia : Cayla Francis". Basketball Australia. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  16. ^ a b c "Past Athletes : Australian Institute of Sport : Australian Sports Commission". Australian Institute of Sport. Archived from the original on 12 February 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  17. ^ Nagy, Boti (20 November 2008). "Tracy has an eye on AIS". The Advertiser. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  18. ^ Nagy, Boti (16 November 2009). "Lightning teach a lesson, ultimately". The Advertiser. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  19. ^ "Rangers push Lightning to the limit — ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  20. ^ Griffith Thomas (4 October 2010). "BIG THREE: Logan Thunder recruits, Cayla Francis, | Logan Basketball | Basketball in Logan". The Reporter. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  21. ^ Rachael Sporn (30 November 2011). "WNBL Round 8 MVP Interview — Cayla Francis — WNBL (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  22. ^ "Dowdell wins player of the week award ... again". Townsville: Townsville Bulletin Sport. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  23. ^ Opals centre Cayla Francis completes Fire's roster
  24. ^ Mercury Sign Australian Center Cayla Francis Archived 10 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ Phoenix Mercury Signs Cayla George
  26. ^ Sun Acquire George From Mercury
  27. ^ "Dallas Wings Add Cayla George". wings.wnba.com. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  28. ^ Cayla George Signs With The Las Vegas Aces
  29. ^ "News Article". SportsAustralia.com. 8 April 2008. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  30. ^ "AUS — Opals announce training camp squad". Fiba.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  31. ^ a b c d e "Australia accumulated statistics | 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship for Women | ARCHIVE.FIBA.COM". FIBA. 5 August 2007. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  32. ^ "Australian Olympic Team for Tokyo 2021". The Roar. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
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