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A huge thankyou to our experts, the commentators of the NBL1 Central that cast their own 3-2-1 each match of the season to help with the predictions below for the award…
Halls now to be known as the Lorraine Eiler Medal
(The following was released by Basketball SA earlier this year)
The Halls Medal has been a symbol of excellence in South Australian women’s basketball for over half a century. First awarded in 1964, the prestigious honour was established to recognise the best and fairest players in the District Women’s competition. Over the years, it has evolved into the award for the Fairest and Most Brilliant player, with referees casting votes after every game on a 3-2-1 basis.
With a history rich in talent, past winners include some of Australia’s basketball greats — Rachael Sporn (West Adelaide, 1989 & 1993), Suzy Batkovic (West Adelaide, 2002), Alex Wilson (Eastern Mavericks, 2017), and Kristen Veal (Norwood, 1999), among others.
The biggest multiple winner of the Halls is Vikki Kelson who has won it four times in 2000, 2001 and 2005 including a three-way tie in 1999 with Narelle Lindsay and Kristen Veal. In 2024 we had our first back-to-back Halls medallist in Mikayla Williams since Deanna Smith for the South Adelaide Panthers in 2003 and 2004.
The origins of the award date back to a time when the Woollacott Medal was the sole recognition for standout players. A push for a separate women’s award led to Halls Soft Drinks sponsoring the medal, creating a legacy that has stood the test of time.
Now, in recognition of the remarkable contributions of women in basketball and the sport’s ever-evolving landscape, the Halls Medal is set to be renamed. And there is no better figure to honour in this transition than Lorraine Eiler, a true trailblazer of women’s basketball in Australia.
Eiler was a natural leader who captained South Australia’s state team at the first- ever National Championships in 1955, winning the first of nine consecutive titles.
She made history as the captain of Australia’s first-ever national women’s basketball team, leading the Opals at the 1957 FIBA World Championships in Brazil. What makes her story even more remarkable is that she had only taken up basketball three years prior to her historic selection.
A multi-talented athlete, Eiler excelled in basketball and netball, where she
represented Australia and led the national team to victory over England in 1956. She was also an A-grade tennis and squash player. But it was her ground-breaking journey in basketball that saw her become the first Australian woman to receive a U.S. college scholarship — an opportunity that paved the way for future generations of female athletes.
Her legacy was cemented when she was inducted into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Sport SA Hall of Fame in 2015. She remains one of the most influential figures in Australian women’s basketball history.
The official unveiling of the new name will take place at this Sunday’s Basketball SA Awards Gala, ensuring that the legacy of the Halls Medal continues to inspire generations to come.
The inaugural Lorraine Eiler Medallist will be awarded to the Fairest and Most Brilliant player of the 2025 NBL1 Central season.
Previous Decade Winners
2014 Amy Lewis (Norwood Flames)
2015 Callan Taylor (Woodville Warriors)
2016 Olivia “Levicki” Thompson (Forestville)
2017 Alex Wilson (Eastern Mavericks)
2018 Chelsea Brook (Sturt Sabres)
2019 Carmen Tyson-Thomas (Eastern Mavericks)
2021 Teige Morrell (Southern Tigers)
2022 Mikayla Williams (Sturt Sabres)
2023 Mikayla Williams (Sturt Sabres)
2024 Casey Samuels (Central Districts Lions)
Did you know???
In the Womens the club who has won the most Halls medals is North Adelaide with 10 followed by South Adelaide with nine and West Adelaide with eight. Out of the 10 current clubs, everyone has posted a winner with Sam Woosnam the least recent club player to win it for West Adelaide way back in 2006.
The Favourites
Olivia Levicki (West Adelaide Bearcats)
Our raging favourite going into the season and for good reason. Levicki did not miss a beat despite the rust coming into the season off three years away from the game in AFLW with Port Adelaide. The big part here is she’s a previous winner (2016) and has always caught the eye with her size and speed combination.
The dominant player on her team going through her numbers we think she’s polled at least 12 of her 17 games while being top five in points (21.5) and rebounds (14.1 at #1) while also capturing 1.4 steals and blocks to boot
West haven’t had a winner since Sam Woosnam in 2006 – Levicki could be the first of their new era…
Sam Simons (Forestville Eagles)
The time as a Tiger in NBL1 South has Simons peaking at the right time of her career. An incredibly consistent season playing every game in the team that finished top of the ladder. A multiple Merv Harris award winner across 2021 and 2022 for the most number of votes in the medal by an Under 23 player means she’s already a known poller in the counts.
Simons finished top five in points (20.8) but it will all depend on whether votes are shared in her side – however we are anticipating polling in at least 16 of her 18 games this season.
Jasmin Fejo (Woodville Warriors)
As the Warriors got their momentum rolling after a tough opening three matches – so did the multiple championship winner. The last six matches of 21, 28, 26, 15, 17 and 26 saw her finish the last third of the season 22 points per game and likely plenty of triple votes.
So our eye will be on how she polls early in the season – if she can snare a few votes in some of those losses as the Warriors best her run home could see her sweep into calculations just like her team this season…
The Smokeys
Katia Stamatelopoulos (Sturt Sabres)
Out and out the most improved player of the season – flourishing in her new environment at the Sabres. Stamatelopoulos upped her numbers by +5 in points, +2 in assists and +5 in rebounds – the style she plays with is impactful and has been one of the recruits of the season.
The key as always with votes in a Sabres side is the evenness of performance and while polling reasonably high and likely the most from her team – the Sabres top performances weekly are generally split amongst their band.
Mollie McKendrick (North Adelaide Rockets)
With Basham, Mansfield and Freer missing significant games a big reason why the Rockets are finals bound goes back to the veteran presence of Mollie McKendrick. Another known all-star five frequent flyer into those teams and recognised long term for her impact at both ends of the floor – McKendrick once again will poll strong.
Amanda Paschal (Norwood Flames)
Caught the eye of our commentators at the start of the season as to how much vote gathering she would do depending on where her team finished on the table. Stuffs the stat sheet for points (#7 at 18.8), rebounds (#6 at 8.9), assists (#10 at 3.9 ) and steals (#6 at 2.6) per game featuring in the top 10 in all key categories.
The simple fact is number of wins and a team-mate likely to pinch some votes for during the season in Ke’Shunan James…
Keep An Eye on
Iva Belosevic/McKenzie Johnston (Southern Tigers)
Its rare in prediction you nominate two players equally and while one by our account just shaded the other for top votes from the Southern Tigers – who knows if a few might pass the way of each other to elevate them right into a contending position.
Both have had excellent individual seasons but their downfall will be the number of wins for the Tigers – I also see them being some of the few players to still grab three or two per game in losses as well so well worth keeping the eye of on it.
Jordyn Freer (North Adelaide Rockets)
If it’s not McKendrick getting votes it’ll be Jordyn Freer that’ll be pinching them for the Rockets up top. Expect her to start strong in the polling but as the season went along and team-mates returned – may fade in the count late but still finish in a strong position and still feature in the all-star five conversation.
Kiera Gardiner (South Adelaide Panthers)
The breakout player of the year from the South Adelaide Panthers and if she polls well this weekend will be one to keep an eye on for the Eiler medal in the future. Could finish the season very strong grabbing votes for her wins for the Panthers and even in losses may take at least a vote across the competition.
Our final prediction for the Eiler medal will be announced on Episode 39 of the SA Shotclock
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