Jess Foley (sportswoman)

For other people named Jess Foley, see Jess Foley.

Jessica Mary Ellen Foley (born 20 April 1983) is a retired Australian basketballer and Australian rules footballer. As a basketballer, Foley represented Australia at both junior and senior levels and played for Duke in college basketball in the United States. As an Australian rules footballer, Foley played for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW), playing in an AFL Women's premiership in her first season.

Jess Foley
Born	(1983-04-20) 20 April 1983 (age 41) Bega, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Basketball career
Career information
College	Duke (2002–2006)
WNBA draft	2006: 3rd round, 38th overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Fever
Position	Small forward
Medals Oceania Championships 2009 Australia / New Zealand Team
Australian rules football career Personal information Draft No. 30, 2018 national draft Debut Round 1, 2019, Adelaide vs. Western Bulldogs, at Norwood Oval Position(s) Ruck / key forward Playing career1 Years Club Games (Goals) 2019–2020 Adelaide 13 (4) 1 Playing statistics correct to the end of the 2020 season. Career highlights AFL Women's premiership player: 2019 Source: AustralianFootball.com

Basketball career

Foley commenced playing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) in 1999. Since then, Foley has played for the AIS (1999/00 to 2000/01) and Adelaide Lightning (2006/07 to current).^[1]

In season 2007/08, Foley was selected to the WNBL All-Star Five.^[2] In 2011, Foley won the Halls Medal for the best and fairest player in the South Australian Women's competition.^[3]

Between 2002 and 2006, Foley attended Duke University in North Carolina and played for the Blue Devils. As a junior, Foley set a single season record with 68 three-pointers made.^[4]

In the 2006 WNBA draft, Foley was selected in round 3 (pick 38 overall) by the Indiana Fever, but did not play because of injury.^[5] In 2008, Foley was traded to the Connecticut Sun, but returned to Australia without playing a WNBA game.^[6]

At official FIBA events, Foley played for Australia at the 2001 World Championship for Junior Women, the 2003 World Championship for Young Women and the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship for Women, where she won a Gold medal.^[7]

Duke statistics

Source^[8]

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

	Team	GP	Points	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2002-03	Duke	32	174	41.5%	34.9%	84.6%	2.1	1.9	0.6	0.1	5.4
2003-04	Duke	34	187	34.7%	32.8%	85.0%	1.9	2.0	1.0	0.2	5.5
2004-05	Duke	34	371	39.0%	35.6%	79.7%	4.0	3.6	1.9	0.3	10.9
2005-06	Duke	35	197	44.4%	40.2%	84.2%	1.6	1.7	0.8	0.1	5.6
Career		135	929	39.5%	35.7%	82.1%	2.4	2.3	1.1	0.1	6.9

AFLW career

Foley was drafted by Adelaide at pick no. 30 in the 2018 national draft.^[9] In March 2020, she retired to focus on her medical career.^[10]

Following her retirement, Foley has been a ruck coach and team doctor at Geelong in 2021 and joined the club's AFLW coaching panel for 2022 AFL Women's season 6 as an assistant coach with responsibility for the defence.^[11]

See also

• WNBL All-Star Five

References

1. Women's National Basketball League. All Time Playing Roster Archived 15 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-01-09
2. Women's National Basketball League. All Star Five Archived 15 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
3. Halls Medal. Fox Sporting Pulse. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
4. Duke University. Jessica Foley Bio. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
5. Chong, Jordon (7 April 2006). Fever catch Foley. The Age. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
6. Former Blue Devil Jessica Foley Traded To The Connecticut Sun (19 February 2008). GoDuke.com. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
7. FIBA Archive. Player Profile: Jessica Foley. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
8. "Duke Media Guide". Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
9. Balnaves-Gale, Emmalie (13 November 2018). "AFLW: Adelaide draftee Jessica Foley joins the Crows nest". Adelaide. Telstra Media.
10. "AFLW: Foley retires". Adelaide. Telstra Media. 31 March 2020.
11. "AFLW Coaching Line-Up Finalised". Geelong Football Club. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2021. Jess Foley will step into an assistant coaching role after joining Geelong's AFLW program as a ruck coach in 2021. A former Adelaide Crows ruck, Foley will lead the Geelong defenders. Foley had a number of roles across 2021, including being the VFL Men's team doctor, and also returned to the field for three games in Geelong's VFLW team this year.

External links

• Jess Foley's profile on the official website of the Adelaide Football Club
• Jess Foley at AustralianFootball.com