South Australian point guard headed for Texas
Lauren Mansfield, an 18-year old from Gulfview Heights, South Australia, recently signed with Midland College's women's basketball team on April 15, 2008. Mansfield has been a member of the South Australian Sports Institute (SASI) player development program for elite athletes for five years (2002-2006), and has toured with SASI teams to the United States in 2005 and again to the States and France in 2006.
She has been a regular member of South Australian teams competing in National Championships in Under 16’s in 2003 & 2004 (winning Silver and Bronze medals), Under 18’s in 2005 & 2006 (winning Silver & Bronze medals), and the Under 20’s in 2007 & 2008 (winning Bronze and Gold medals).
Mansfield attended All-Australian Camps held in Canberra in 2006 and 2007 under the National Talent Identification Program. From these she was selected into the Australian Gems squad and made it to the final 14, just missing selection to the Gems team that represented Australia at the World 2007 Under 19 Championships. She was the only non-AIS representative on the squad.
She has played for the local North Adelaide Rockets since she was ten and has progressed through the junior ranks to be the current starting point guard on the Rockets Central ABL team.
Her aim is to one day represent Australia at the Olympics and play professional basketball in the U.S.A. or Europe.
Midland is a junior college located in Midland, Texas. Last season, the Lady Chaparrals, finished 5th in the National Junior College Tournament, and ended the season with an impressive, 31-6 record.
Head Coach, Ron Jones has built Midland into one of the top women's program on the JC level over his 14 years at the helm. Over the past seven seasons, his team has qualified for three NJCAA Final Fours.
Mansfield joins fellow Aussie, Jessica Wallis (Brisbane) who will enter her sophomore season.
One of the school's most famous alumni is former NBA great, Spud Webb. Webb led the men's basketball team to the national junior college championship in 1982. Webb then transferred to NC State under Jim Valvano, where he led them to the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen in 1985.
