Canadian basketballer arrives

Press, 27 April 1988, Page 64

Canadian basketballer arrives

By

BRUCE MARTIN

Five months of frustrating w tiling and many oversets toll calls and letters came to an end yesterday with the arrival in Christchurch of a Canadian basketball player, Sheri Isturmey. for the Canterbury women's team.

! The Canterbury coach, Mr Bill Whelan, had an American agent. Gerry Webber, searching for a I'post" player to replace the American, Edith Duffey and who would fit into and plhy with the Canterbury players.

He wanted a strong rebounder and not a "thirty" point star that would win games but not assist the team in any wav.

Sturmey. a 23-year-old Canadian a shade over I.Bm tall, arrived yesterday; morning after two seasons with the Simeon Fraser University in Vancouver where she was the side’s leading scorer averaging 18 points a game and 8 rebounds. Sturmey started basketball as a 16-year-old at the Aldergrove Secondary’ School, near Vancouver.

and also spent a season (1982-83) at the Everett College in Washington. There she was scouted by several American universities but chose to return to Canada.! She heard about NewZealand through a flatmate's friend j who had played division tw-o basketball for Whangarei and had written to both New Zealand and Australia before accepting Canterbury's offer. She intends to return to university for one more semester. Although travel weary.

Sturmey attended the Canterbury practice last evening. Canterbury meets archrival Otago, another division one opponent, in a return warm-up match in Cowles Stadium on Saturday evening. Canterbury will be keen to avenge the 46-67 loss in the first encounter. Canterbury makes its national league debut on May 7 and 8 with away games against Wellington and Palmerston North with its first home game encounter against Southland on Mav 14.