Gabbi Clayton – Lady Hawks Player Profile

Gabbi Clayton a true athlete and very much an asset to the Lady Hawks team. Her tenacious defence and ball handling skills make her a vital part of the team.

Age: 22 (turning 23 on Sunday!)

Nickname: Gabbi or Dags

Uni/Work: I’m studying Paramedical Science at Uni and I work in aged care.

Why basketball? I love it so much, I couldn’t live without it. When I was young, I played so many different sports which was fun. From triathlons to BMX’ing, I tried them all. It got to a point where I wanted to get serious with my sport and it came down to a choice between triathlons and basketball. I ended up opting for the team sport option. I’m glad I did. It’s my favourite thing and I love playing so much.

How many years have you been playing? Since I was 10, so nearly 13 years now.

How have you found the season so far? It’s been great. Having a new coach come in has been good. It was a little frustrating there at the start, being so inconsistent and not playing our best. But I feel like things are really coming together now and it’s exciting. I love playing with everyone on the team, they’re a great group of girls.

Favourite players/inspirational people: In terms of players, I’d definitely have to say I’ve always loved watching Joe-Alan Tupaea and his style of play. I like his competitiveness and aggressiveness. More recently, I’ve loved watching Michael Lay play.

Seeing a shorter guy dominate a tall guy’s sport is awesome to see. My parents are also very inspirational to me.

Favourite moments playing: Winning a bronze medal at the U20 National Championship was definitely a highlight. Another favourite moment was when I made my WNBL debut with the West Coast Waves.

3 things you're good at other than basketball: making old people laugh, scrabble and cooking.

8 of your favourite things you couldn't live without: my boyfriend, my family, basketball, the ocean, ice-cream, my books, spaghetti bolognaise and Disney movies.

If you could hang out with any 5 people in the world, who would they be? My boyfriend, my sister, the little old lady across the road who adopted me as her granddaughter, Michael Jackson and Eskymo (my little German Shepherd).

Favourite quote/saying/motto: “Over-thinking ruins you. Ruins the situation, twists things around, makes you worry and just makes everything much worse than it actually is”.