9 August 2018: Canadian international guard Kia Nurse will swap North America for the nation’s capital after signing a one-year deal with the University of Canberra Capitals.
Nurse is currently playing for the New York Liberty in the WNBA. She was selected 10th overall in the 2018 draft after impressing at the University of Connecticut (UConn) and for her country.
The 22-year-old was still in high school when she first broke into the national team and has since gone on to compete in various international competitions including the Rio Olympics in 2016. She was crowned MVP at the 2015 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup.
Nurse won back-to-back NCAA titles with UConn in 2015 and 2016.
Earlier this year, she scored 34 points for the Liberty against Indiana Fever, achieving a season-high total among WNBA rookies.
The 2018–19 WNBL season will be Nurse’s first foray outside of North America. She said she was excited to bring her game down under.
“I’m incredibly excited to get over to Australia and join the UC Capitals for the WNBL season,” she said. “I believe this is the perfect place to be starting my overseas playing career.
“I think we have a team capable of competing for a WNBL championship and I’m excited to be a part of that.”
UC Capitals head coach Paul Goriss said Nurse’s inclusion to the team was a vital component.
“We are extremely excited to have someone of Kia’s calibre join the team,” he said. “She comes from a very successful college basketball program and she has terrific basketball IQ.
“Kia is a two-way player – she plays both ends of the court. She runs the lanes hard, hits shot from anywhere and is relentless on defence. She is an all-round player.”
Nurse comes from an accomplished sporting family. Her father played in the Canadian Football League while her mother played college basketball in Canada. Nurse’s older brother plays for the Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League and her sister has played college basketball in Canada and the United States.
Contact the University of Canberra media team:
Tara Corcoran | 0418 806 293 | Tara.Corcoran@canberra.edu.au
Antony Perry | 0434 795 919 | Antony.Perry@canberra.edu.au