IT was four years ago that Hamilton’s Abbey Sutherland made the move to America to attend and play college basketball with Houston Christian University, but the talented athlete is now back on Australian soil and loved her time playing with Melbourne Tigers in the NBL1 South competition. 

The former Monivae College student finished her four-year career with the Houston Huskies after graduating at the end of 2022, but not without some impressive accolades from her time abroad.

The 6’4” centre finished her Huskies career ranked fifth in the school’s history for blocks with 117 over her four seasons.

She averaged five points and five rebounds per game, as well as becoming a great anchor for her team’s defensive structure over this period.

Sutherland also impressed off the court with her academic excellence shining through, as she was named in the Southland All-Academic Second-Team in her final year, as well as achieving a perfect 4.0 GPA in her freshman year.

Sutherland said it had been a great experience to play college basketball and make plenty of lifelong friends in the process.

She even got the opportunity to match up against Angel Reese (Louisiana State University) who later went pick number seven in the 2024 WNBA draft to Chicago Sky.

“Playing against Angel Reese was tough but was so fun … it was super cool to get to play against big schools like LSU the year they won the national championship,” Sutherland said.

“I loved playing in Houston and met so many great people.”

Upon returning to Australia, she signed with Kilsyth Cobras in the NBL1 and played the second half of last year with the team.

But the former Warrnambool Mermaids star said she considered putting the ball down and stepping off the court for a bit after four years of basketball with the Huskies.

“When I finished college I took a lot of time to decide if I wanted to play basketball again or take some time off,” she said.

“I started chatting to a few teams just to see where it would go and then decided I did want to commit to a team.”

Sutherland played 11 games for the Cobras and quickly became an integral part of the team’s defensive stocks blocking shots and taking charges.

She then made the move across to Melbourne Tigers signing with the rival club ahead of the 2024 season with the aspiration of playing finals basketball.

The Tigers didn’t achieve the on-court success they’d hoped for, as they finished their season back in July in 15th position on the ladder, with a season record of 7-15.

Sutherland was a mainstay in the team and played 22 games, averaging almost four points per game, four rebounds and shot the ball at an impressive 41.57 per cent.

She said while it was disappointing to miss out on finals, it was reflective of how close and strong the entire competition was.

“We unfortunately didn’t make finals … we had a lot of close losses which made week to week a bit tough, as we were so close in so many games,” she said.

“The league this year was super strong meaning that anyone could beat anyone on a good night, which is such a great thing but unfortunately didn’t go our way.”

Sutherland is currently living in Geelong and has been travelling to Melbourne throughout the year to play both home and away matches, as well as train with her team.

She won’t be playing any basketball in the off-season but hoped to suit up with the Tigers again in 2024 and continue to improve her individual skills.

“I really enjoyed my season with the Tigers and loved the family feel at the club, I felt as though I fitted in as soon as I went to my first practice,” Sutherland said.

“I think for me personally I’m just trying to enjoy my time playing and continue to develop as a player by learning from new players and coaches.”