When Jade Melbourne arrives in the United States to begin her college basketball career at Arizona State, she'll be a freshman already with a season of experience in one of the world's premier professional leagues.
In November and December, the 18-year-old Melbourne played mostly as a starter for the Canberra Capitals, which in 2019-20 won their second consecutive Australian Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) championship.
Due to COVID, the WNBL reduced its 2020-21 season to six weeks, played in a bubble setting in North Queensland. With fewer imports to choose from due to travel restrictions, the league's eight teams relied almost exclusively on players from Australia and New Zealand.