When the new WNBL season starts in just over a week, it will signal a bold new direction under new ownership. But nowhere will the excitement be as palpable as in Adelaide, where its once proud club has rebuilt from scratch.
00:00When Karen Mitchell was headhunted from interstate to coach Adelaide, she had to climb a mountain.
00:08So I had no players, so that was very, it was daunting.
00:12Piece by piece, she's rebuilt the squad.
00:14So we needed those sort of people that were just going to put their hard hat on and get to work.
00:19Adelaide had won five championships before falling on hard times.
00:23Its license had been handed back and future looked bleak before the South Australian government and new WNBL owners stepped in to prop it up financially.
00:34While Mitchell rebuilt the team, CEO Melanie McGilvray did the same off the court, including ditching the traditional team colours for plum, lavender and mandarin.
00:45And that's very much a celebration of the landscape of South Australia.
00:48So we're not just a club for Adelaide, we're a club for South Australia.
00:52Look good, feel good, that's all I say.
00:55No, I love these colours, it's something fresh.
00:57A new ownership group's also been found initially taking on 30% of the Lightning before taking it to 100% within three years.
01:06Saving the side has given a pathway to the WNBL for the likes of local gun Jasmine Feijo promoted from the State League.
01:15Really, really tough.
01:17It's just really quick, but I like that style of playing.
01:21I mean, it's a great vibe.
01:22All the girls are very energetic and it's just a great culture, which I love.
01:26Just does things a little bit differently.
01:28And I think if we can really harness her just individual brilliance, then she will be able to really do great things for us this season.
01:37When or lose this season, the Lightning is now here to stay.
01:41All of us really want the Adelaide Lightning brand to very much be a leader in women's sport in Australia.
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