The North Adelaide Women’s Team were hard at it in training under Coach Kay McFarlane. One of the star players on the Adelaide team was Australian great Jill Hammond who was as tough and uncompromising as they come. This day (as with most days) Hammond was working over the young girl marking her in defence. She elbowed, pushed, knocked around and constantly strived to get every advantage over the youngster. Suddenly the youngster had had enough and retaliated with her own elbows and pushing. “Oh God I’m dead,” thought the youngster. Coach Kay broke into a big grin, and Jill stared the youngster down and said “Well it’s about bloody time you gave me something back Moff. Now let’s get on with it.” Marina Moffa then realised that she had been tested and they were all waiting for her to stand up for herself. “If only I had known earlier!” says Marina.
Marina Moffa was born April 17th in 1964 in Adelaide, South Australia.
She began playing Club basketball when she was fourteen years of age (1978). Shewent to watch a friend try out for the U16 State Basketball Team and the coach, Lee Prettejohn, asked her to join in. She was not keen at all as she had only played in social competitions and other than being the tallest girl out there she felt she had very little to offer. Lee thought differently and worked with her constantly and eventually Marina made the State Team.Marina played at North Adelaide under the guidance of Fran Barnes (an Australian player) and her progress was very rapid.
She progressed so much that she made every State team from then on through to Under 20’s
At age sixteen Marina was asked to go to Provo, Utah in the USA and play for the High School Basketball Team and possibly train with the Utah College program.
She accepted the offer and headed for the US. Marina recalls, “Whilst it was a big move for me to go to the States it was a great experience. I lived with a wonderful family, did Year 12 at Provo High School and spent hours and hours training with both Provo High and the College team. I returned home in July the following year for my oldest sister's wedding and had two weeks to decide whether I wanted to return to Utah and play College for the next four years. I chose to stay at home and continue to play with North Adelaide.”
Kay McFarlane (Australian 1984 Olympic Assistant Coach) was now the coach at North Adelaide and was to have a great effect on the gifted and talented Marina. “Mac, as we all called her, was not only my coach but also my mentor throughout many years of my career and I will be forever indebted to her. The other person who I owe much to is my sister, Rose, who without her guidance, patience and endless dropping off and picking up for games, trainings and airports etc I would not have achieved what I did. As our mum passed away when I was elevenyears old people like Rose, my other sister, Lisa, Kay Mac and Lee Prettejohn played vital parts in my growing up,” recalls Marina.
In 1983 at nineteen years of age Marina was selected for her first Australian Team when played for the Australian Women’s Teamin the Oceania Tournament in New Zealand. “Being my first overseas trip and having no idea what to take, I spent a lot of time hauling bags on and off the bus, up and down flights of stairs and packing and unpacking my suitcase which was so over packed it wasn't funny - not to me anyway, but the rest of the team thought it was,” says Marina.
In 1984 Marina was selected on the Australian Women’s Team for the 1984 Olympic Qualification Tournament in Cuba. She was now a 6’1” (185cms) 77kgs forward and played above her size internationally. Australia played very well through the Olympic Qualification Tournament but did not qualify for the LA Olympics Games. Marina and the team returned home most disappointed. Then it was announced that some Soviet- Bloc teams were boycotting the Olympics and Australia would replace one of the boycotting nations. The Australian Women’s Basketball Team was in the Olympics for the first time!
“We were fortunate enough to qualify for the Los Angeles Olympics” says Marina, “And I was part of that team. I was the youngest member of the team and had the opportunity of playing with the Aussie greats of the game such as Jenny Cheesman, Pat Mickan, Karen Dalton, Julie Nykiel, Robyn Maher and Trish Cockrem to name a few. I can vividly remember in my first game.Brendan Flynn, the Coach, looking down the end of the bench and with about two minutes to go he called me up to sub on. Well never have I been so nervous! From memory I got to go to the foul line in that time and while my knees were shaking terribly I think I may have made one out of the two shots.”
Australia finished the Olympic Tournament in style when they had an upset win over Yugoslavia and secured fifth place (out of six teams).
In 1985 Marina played on the Australian Women’s Teams that won the Gold Medal at the inaugural Australia Games and won the Oceania Championships. She toured to Europe with Australia in late 1985.
In 1987 Marina undertook two long tours with Australia when the team went to Europe and then to the USA and Canada.
Marina was a superb athlete. Her mobility up and down the court made her difficult to defend. Her jump-shot was in the men’s style above her head and this made her shot difficult to block. Her rebounding was superb and she played very physically, was a staunch team player and a tenacious defender.
The 1988 Seoul Olympic Games were the next major personal focus for Marina. She was selected on the Australian Women’s Basketball Team for the 1988 Olympic Games. However Australia still had to qualify. After playing in the Seoul Goodwill Tournament Australia played in the 1988 Olympic Qualification Tournament in Malaysia and qualified for the Seoul Olympic Games. Prior to the Olympics Marina travelled with the Australian Team to Riga in Latvia for a tournament.
Australia started the 1988 Olympic Tournament with a heavy loss to hosts Korea but bounced back to defeat the USSR for that nation’s first loss in OlympicWomen’s Basketball. The Australians created history when they became the first Australian Women’s Basketball Team to qualify through to the Semi-Finals at an Olympic Games.
The Australians were so close to playing off for a Gold medal when they played Yugoslavia in the Semi-Finals. With .02 seconds left in the game Yugoslavia rebounded their own shot, threw the ball up from behind the backboard to score a basket for the Australians to lose by one point.
“That semi-final against Yugoslavia was a night game and we had to suit up around 9.30am, I think, for the Bronze Medal game the following morning against Russia. The whole team was so deflated and devastated knowing we had lost a golden opportunity to play off for Gold that by the time we lined up to play Russia the following morning the wind had been taken out of us. I know now that a Bronze Medal would have been great too but it just was not meant to be,” reflects Marina.
In 1989 Marina was selected on the Australian Team and toured to Japan but did not play due to injury. She did play for Australia when it won the 1989 Oceania Championships. That same year Marina toured with the Australian Team to the USA.
In 1990 Marina toured to Europe with Australia and played in the Seoul Goodwill Tournament before playing in the 1990 Women’s World Basketball Championships in Malaysia, where the team finished in 6th position. That same year Marina played for Australia in the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle.
1991 saw Marina play for Australia in a series in Australia with the USSR, China, and Korea before Australia completed the year with a tour to the USA.
After playing for Australia against China in 1992, Marina was chosen on the Australian Team to play in the 1992 Olympic Qualification Tournament in Spain. Initially the Australian Team played very well in the Qualification Tournament only to lose their last two games and miss qualification for the Barcelona Olympics on percentage win-loss points. It was a devastating result for Marina and the team.
Marina’s last appearance for Australia was in a series against Japan in Australia in 1994.
Marina continued to play in the WNBL with North Adelaide and then with the Adelaide Lightning. In 1993 she had her son Mitch in Melbourne where she played for a year with the Dandenong Rangers in the WNBL. She then returned to Adelaide to re-join the Lightning. Marina played for the Lightning when they won the WNBL title in three consecutive years 1994, 1995 and 1996.
Marina’s career in the WNBL was a great achievement. When she retired from the WNBL she had played 287 games (the second most at that time) was third in point scoring (3048), second in field goals attempted, third in field goals made, third in free-throws attempted (808) and free-throws made (592), first in fouls (935),second in turnovers, and second in rebounds (1225).
At the end of the 1996 WNBL season Marina at 32 years of age and after seventeen years in the League retired from WNBL basketball. She continued to play in the local South Australian District competition with West Adelaide. Marina Moffa (Wood) has four children (Mitch, Emily, Chad and Blake).
Marina Moffa played for Australia in two Olympic Games and was a member of Australia’s first Women’s Basketball Team to play at the Olympic Games. She had an outstanding career in the WNBL and will be remembered as one of the finest women basketball players of her era.