Adelaide Lightning lifeline keeps professional dream alive for young basketballersBy Camron SlessorStatelineTopic:WNBL54m ago54 minutes agoSat 10 May 2025 at 9:34pmLaura Hodges hopes to share her love of basketball with her daughters, including Mia. (ABC News: Justin Hewitson)abc.net.au/news/adelaide-lightning-lifeline-keeps-olympic-basketball-hopes-alive/105273588Link copiedShareShare articleFour-time Olympian Laura Hodges hopes to pass on her love of basketball to her two daughters, Ava and Mia.The Australian basketball legend has reached the top of the sport globally, playing in the American Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), as well as in Europe and as a member of the Opals, the Australian women's national team.But it was her hometown club, the Adelaide Lightning, that sparked her love of the game."It's the team I followed as a child and the reason I wanted to be an Opal," Hodges said."It was when I watched my first ever Lightning game and being in that crowd, watching these amazing women running up and down the floor, I just wanted to be like them."Laura Hodges says the Adelaide Lightning inspired her career. (ABC News: Justin Hewitson)Idolising Lightning champion Rachael Sporn, Hodges has supported the team since childhood and represented her hometown club in three stints across her 18-year playing career.She has no doubt she would not have made it to the top of the sport without the Adelaide-based club."I don't think I would be the person I am today, and I don't think I would be a four-time Olympian without the Adelaide Lightning," she said."It was the Lightning that said, to me, I want to be an elite athlete."Participation in basketball is booming, according to Laura Hodges. (ABC News: Justin Hewitson)Lightning's lifeline from SA governmentHodges and others in the South Australian basketball community were forced to consider the reality of a city without the Lightning, over a fortnight of serious uncertainty.A dispute between the Women's National Basketball League's new owners and the club had put the team's future under a heavy cloud, with the competition declining Lightning owner Pelligra's request to continue in the league.Adelaide's WNBL team savedPhoto shows The home of the Adelaide Lightning WNBL club.Adelaide will continue in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) after the league's new owners today announced a partnership with the SA government to keep the team alive.But a cash injection from the South Australian government averted the crisis, with the state providing $571,000 to the club per year over the next three years while the WNBL looks for a new owner to take over the five-time champions."There wasn't a set of circumstances where as a government we were going to tolerate the Adelaide Lightning not continuing within the WNBL," SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said on Thursday.The league's new chief executive, Jennie Sager, said the partnership was the first step in rebuilding the team in South Australia.There are hopes the Lightning's lifeline will pave the way for the next generation of basketballers, such as the junior Forestville Eagles. (ABC News: Justin Hewitson)"We couldn't be happier that from the minute we reached out to the government, that support was there and that door was open," she said on Thursday."It's absolutely a partnership that needed to happen to keep the Lightning here."Right now, our intention is to look for new owners over the next three years."Hodges said that deal would be vital for the future of basketball in South Australia, with participation in the sport booming, particularly for girls."It's really special now I'm a mum of two girls knowing that they can look up to people and maybe dream of being an Adelaide Lightning player themselves," Hodges said.Forestville Eagles under-12s during training in Adelaide. (ABC News: Justin Hewitson)WNBL is 'achievable for them'Among those dreaming to play for the Lightning are fans Lexi and Remi Brown.The talented 13-year-old twins play for Forestville's under-16s and both hope for a career in the sport."I would love to make it to the WNBA, that's a big thing, or the Lightning," Lexi said."I want to play for the Opals," said Remi.Lexi and Remi Brown (centre) with the Adelaide Lightning team. (Supplied)The twins are also putting the extra work in, training privately with current Lightning players through the Complete Athlete Project.Their mother, Sarah Brown, said the girls were relishing that opportunity."Seeing the local girls playing in the Adelaide Lightning team, it's achievable for them and that next step before ... America and those bigger dreams," she said.Remi and Lexi Brown at an Opals game. (Supplied)With the Adelaide Lightning's future now looking much more stable, the women's basketball community is breathing a deep sigh of relief.Hodges believes more South Australians will now make it to the national level and follow the footsteps of local stars Isobel Borlase and Steph Talbot."I know that we will get more South Australians within the Australian team and be future Olympians that will get to wear medals in the future," she said.Posted 54m ago54 minutes agoSat 10 May 2025 at 9:34pmShare optionsCopy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)SportTim Smith was the best rookie the NRL had seen, but it all tumbled downTopic:NRLPhoto shows A man thanks the crowd after a rugby league match Italian crowd compares Sinner's victorious return to pope's ascentTopic:TennisPhoto shows Tennis player Jannik Sinner looks down with lights behind him.Rankine and Keane's final quarter heroics help Crows claim epic ShowdownTopic:AFLPhoto shows Riley Thilthorpe gives Izak Rankine a celebratory hug'Get it right': Cowboys coach fumes about refs after draw with PanthersTopic:NRLPhoto shows North Queensland Cowboys player Robert Derby sits on the ground after an NRL draw against the Penrith Panthers.Cricket Australia confirms charter flight for players to get out of PakistanTopic:CricketPhoto shows workers at a cricket stadium in lucknow shut down the equipment as the indian super league is suspendedTop StoriesIsrael is keeping up its blockade of aid as kids starve to deathTopic:WarPhoto shows A small baby in a pink onesie sleeps on a blue and yellow blanket.India-Pakistan ceasefire breaks down hours after truce announcedTopic:Unrest, Conflict and WarPhoto shows Two soldiers walk down a path next to people taking photos on the banks of a riverHow Australia's biggest pokies dynasty is rewriting its legacyTopic:GamblingPhoto shows Len Ainsworth poses for a portrait at a table in a dark room with poker machines behind him.Harry, Charles and the grief dilemma tearing apart the royal familyTopic:RoyaltyPhoto shows An older man and two younger men Soviet spacecraft Kosmos 482 plunges to Earth after 53 years in orbitTopic:SpacecraftPhoto shows A small circular spacecraftRelated storiesAdelaide's WNBL team saved by SA government but no guarantees on 'Lightning' nameTopic:BasketballPhoto shows A woman wearing a red singlet holds a basketball above her head and looks to pass. 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