14th annual Kelly McGillis Classic

February 6 - 14, 2004

Key West, FL USA

Introducing our Special Celebrity Guest for 2005

      Sandy Brondello "One of the greatest shooters in Women's Basketball"- Nancy Lieberman-Cline

    Sandy Brondello "One of the greatest shooters in Women's Basketball"

 Our Special Guest Celebrity this year is Professional Basket Ball player: Sandy Brondello, born in Australia At 5ft. 7, weighing in  a t 136 lbs  

Sandy has played guard for the Seattle Storm since 2003 as well as other WNBA teams: Miami  Sol (2001 - 2002) and Detroit Shock (1998 - 1999) and is Olympic Medalist for Basketball

One of our own IWFFA Board Members, Yvonne Mullet, is an avid basket ball fan of the WNBA. She has had season tickets in New York since  their inception and has seen  Sandy in action. Here she describes Sandy: " she has a great 3 point shot, very accurate from a far range. She dishes  (passes the ball) to her teammates very well, demonstrating  her unselfish play. She's a consummate team player (meaning is a true team player!)  Her most memorable moment for Sandy was watching her play in the 1999 All-Star game at  Madison Square Garden. (A sold out arena). We  have taken a excerpts from article written of Sandy by the Australian Institute for Sports (she attended the school from 1986 ­ 87).

 

Sandy Brondello ­ Shooting Star

Ask any Australian to name a player on the Australian Opals roster, and you wouldn't be surprised to hear them fire back "Michelle Timms" or maybe "Lauren Jackson".
Yet one player who would be unlikely to be mentioned straight away except by a fanatical basketball follower would be Sandy Brondello.
Whilst there are countless examples in history of great basketball players who plied their trade in relative anonymity, Brondello is probably one of the greatest Australian Opals you may never have heard of.
To look at the Queensland-born shooting guard, you can perhaps understand why Brondello hasn't stood out anywhere but in the record books.
You don't make three Olympics and three World Championship teams unless there is something special about you. To see what Brondello's specialty is, you just have to put a ball in her hands and watch her shoot.

To be described as "one of the greatest shooters in women's basketball" by Nancy Lieberman-Cline, herself a legend of the game, is saying something.
Whether you're watching her in a game or at practice, it's always the same. When Brondello shoots, she just never seems to miss.
The girl from Mackay honed her marksmanship on a grass court in her backyard, shooting at a ring her father built for her. She then continued to develop her game during a two-year stint at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra.

It speaks volumes that Brondello has managed to establish herself as a starter and an All-Star in the toughest women's league in the world, the US-based WNBA where super athletes are a dime a dozen. Brondello ranks second all-time in the WNBA in three-point percentage (.425) and sixth in free-throw percentage (.868) despite facing physical defenders night­in and out.
She was the third-leading scorer on her WNBA team, the Miami Sol and somewhat of a cult hero in that part of Florida. Brondello may not be a household name in Australia but amongst hoop fans in the US she is renowned for her deadly shooting accuracy and lightning-fast release on her jumper.

Brondello's fame extends beyond just America, however, as European basketball fans will tell you.
She was one of the early Australian women's pioneers on the European pro circuit and has played for German team BTV Wuppertal for the past decade, helping them win six German Cup titles during her tenure. In 1996, she was even named the MVP of the prestigious European Cup after leading Wuppertal to the title.

Brondello has starred on every world stage that basketball has to offer yet in Australia, where sporting heroes are regularly elevated to deity status, she remains relatively unknown.
Except to us (the IWFFA), Sandy will be our Grand Marshall, Special Celebrity Guest, Speaker at Opening Ceremonies and our Awards as well as play on the Brea Dolce Devils. WE are proud to have Sandy join us and be a part of our organization.