Courtney Woods realising her potential

Townsville Fire Captain Courtney Woods entered WNBL26 with big expectations - and she has blown them out of the water. As a point guard, she’s become one of the league’s most exciting playmakers, orchestrating the competition's top offence and fully realising her immense potential. 

In 2020, Woods made her WNBL debut as a shooting guard playing alongside point guards Steph Reid and Lauren Nicholson. As her basketball IQ sharpened and the roster morphed around her, Woods’ responsibilities grew more and more towards playmaking, finally culminating this year as the Fire’s full-time point guard. 

In a team stacked with talent including Opals Abbey Ellis, Miela Sowah and WNBA talent Lucy Olsen ready to handle majority of the scoring load, Woods has statistically become the league’s best facilitator – averaging 7.22 assists per game. 

It’s a major increase from her average last season (5.4 assists per game), and if she maintains her pace, she’d become only the ninth player in league history to average seven assists or more for an entire season. 

Woods credits her development to Head Coach Shannon Seebohm and her experience in NBL1, where she has spent multiple winter campaigns honing her skills.

“Shannon came to me a quarter of the way through last year, and he was like, ’Have you ever considered trying to be a really good passer?’,” she told WNBL Media. 

“It's something I figured out a little bit more towards the back end of the season and obviously going into a new season, it happened a bit earlier.

“That's what our team needs, we have so many great scorers and I fill in the gap of finding them all and trying to get them all in good positions.” 

The five-time Coach of the Year explained that this has been a year-by-year progression for the Asia Cup medallist. 

“When she first came in, she was probably just a spot-up three-point shooter and wasn't a very confident player in ball screens and handling the ball full stop,” he said in a post-game press conference.

“I think last year, with the big change of our program, and so many new players coming in, she really took the reins of the team and everything kind of ran through her last year… I think that's really set her up for what you're seeing now and you know she's just really taken it to another level. She's rarely flustered or rushed by the defence and she plays at her own speed. 

“She's really started to come into the prime of her career, and I think she's doing a tremendous job of running our offence.”

Woods’ playmaking truly blossomed towards the end of last season, leading Townsville into their third Grand Final in five years – making her a true all-round threat on offence. If she isn’t guarded closely, she’ll drive and capitalise, making her one of the most difficult players in the league to navigate. 

As Woods prepares to face former teammate and mentor, Nicholson, someone who once set the standard Woods now matches – can the Fire claim their ninth for the season?

Watch the Fire host Sydney on Saturday this weekend, get your tickets here. 

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