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Miela Elizabeth Sowah (née Goodchild; born 4 June 2000) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Lynx of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). After winning a championship in the WNBL as a development player with the Townsville Fire in 2018, she played four seasons of college basketball in the United States for the Duke Blue Devils. She returned to the WNBL in 2022, playing a season for the Melbourne Boomers before joining the Perth Lynx in 2023.
| No. 1 – Perth Lynx | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| League | WNBL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 4 June 2000 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Listed height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Moreton Bay College (Brisbane, Queensland) |
| College | Duke (2018–2022) |
| WNBA draft | 2022: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2016–present |
| Career history | |
| 2016–2017 | Logan Thunder |
| 2017–2018 | Townsville Fire |
| 2018 | Townsville Flames |
| 2022 | Mackay Meteorettes |
| 2022–2023 | Melbourne Boomers |
| 2023 | Mount Gambier Pioneers |
| 2023–present | Perth Lynx |
| 2024 | North Gold Coast Seahawks |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
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Sowah was born in Brisbane, Queensland, where she attended Moreton Bay College.[1] She played basketball at Moreton Bay and won numerous sport awards.[1]
As a junior, Sowah played for the Logan Thunder. She was selected the 2016 and 2017 Basketball Queensland Player of the Year and the Logan Basketball Junior Player of the Year.[1] She made her debut for the Thunder in the Queensland Basketball League (QBL) in 2016,[2] earning one appearance as a 15-year-old.[3] In 13 games in 2017, she averaged 10.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals per game.[3]
In July 2017, Sowah signed with the Townsville Fire of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) as a development player for the 2017–18 season.[4][5] She appeared in two games during the season[3] as the Fire went on to win the WNBL championship.[6]
For the 2018 QBL season, Sowah joined the Townsville Flames and won the QBL U-23 Youth Player of the Year after averaging 18.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.5 steals in 16 games.[7]
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Sowah moved to the United States to play college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the NCAA Division I. As a freshman in 2018–19, she played 30 games with 22 starts, averaging 10.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game. She subsequently earned ACC All-Freshman Team honours. She made a Duke freshman record 73 3-pointers, which also ranked as the eighth-most in the ACC history by a freshman. She had a career-high 26 points with eight 3-pointers against Notre Dame.[1]
As a sophomore in 2019–20, Sowah averaged 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.0 assists per game. She scored a season-high 26 points against Troy and became the quickest Blue Devil to reach 100 3-pointers, doing so in only 45 contests.[1]
Sowah's junior year was cut short after the team withdrew from the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic after only four games. She averaged 15.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.[1]
As a senior in 2021–22, Sowah played 29 games with 12 starts, averaging 6.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.[1]
Sowah concluded her career ranking tied for eighth with 170 career 3-pointers made. She earned ACC All-Academic Team in 2018–19, 2019–20 and 2021–22 and earned ACC Honor Roll in 2018–19, 2019–20 and 2020–21.[1]
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In May 2022, Sowah returned to Australia and joined the Mackay Meteorettes of the NBL1 North. In seven games, she averaged 19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game.[8]
Sowah joined the Melbourne Boomers for the 2022–23 WNBL season. In 20 games, she averaged 6.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.[9]
Following the WNBL season, Sowah joined the Mount Gambier Pioneers of the NBL1 South for the 2023 season.[10] In 21 games, she averaged 24.24 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.57 assists and 1.67 steals per game.[11] She subsequently earned NBL1 South All-Star Five honours.[12]
On 5 June 2023, Sowah signed with the Perth Lynx for the 2023–24 WNBL season.[13][14] She suffered a broken nose at training prior to round two which led to her wearing a protective mask for the rest of the season.[15][16] She was thrust into the role of starting point guard midway through the season following an injury to import Aari McDonald.[16] The Lynx made the WNBL grand final series in 2023–24, where they lost to the Southside Flyers.[17] She averaged 10 points per game for the season.[18]
Sowah joined the North Gold Coast Seahawks of the NBL1 North for the 2024 season.[19] She continued wearing a protective mask in the NBL1 season to protect her nose, mindful that she didn't want to suffer any more damage before her wedding.[18] She was named to the NBL1 North First Team.[20] In 17 games, she averaged 28.88 points, 5.29 rebounds, 2.71 assists and 1.12 steals per game.[21]
On 19 August 2024, Sowah re-signed with the Perth Lynx for the 2024–25 WNBL season.[16][22][23] Having played point guard during the 2023–24 season, she entered the 2024–25 season with a focus on being a shooting guard again.[16] On 5 December, she scored a game-high 25 points in a 72–66 loss to the Bendigo Spirit.[24] It was her third successive game with at least 20 points.[25] On 12 December, she scored a game-high 24 points in an 87–63 win over the Canberra Capitals.[26]
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Sowah debuted for Australia at the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship,[27] where she helped the Sapphires win the gold medal.[28] She went on to play at the 2017 FIBA Under-17 Oceania Championship, 2018 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship, and 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup.[29]
Sowah was a member of the Australian national 3x3 team in May 2023.[30]
Sowah is the daughter of David and Michelle Goodchild. She has one brother, Conor, and one sister, Briana.[1] Her father and sister appeared on Australian Survivor: Blood V Water in 2022.[31]
After marrying Josh Sowah in September 2024,[16] she dropped her maiden name of Goodchild and entered the 2024–25 WNBL season as Miela Sowah.[32]
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