Dutch National Francis Donders leads USC Spartans for a shot at the inaugural UBL finals

Birthplace: Eindhoven, The Netherlands

Height: 175cm

Position: Point Guard

Jersey number: 10

Course of study: Master of Teaching (Secondary)

Current basketball team: USC Rip City (QSL)

One year ago, Francis Donders was considering hanging up her shoes from the sport she’s grown up playing all over the world after a year of not being able to play competitive basketball.

Starting from her roots in Europe and representing The Netherlands at the age of 12, Donders moved to Australia to pursue basketball whilst also studying to become a teacher.

The Dutch-born point guard started playing with USC Rip City in 2016 before traveling around south-east Queensland for a couple of years.

Amongst her many accolades, Donders was awarded the Best 3-Point Percentage in the QBL in 2016 as well as Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 with the most steals in that QBL season.

Following her desire to become a teacher, Francis commenced a Master of Teaching (Secondary) at the University of the Sunshine Coast. With a little encouragement from her fellow ballers, she found herself captaining the USC Spartans in the inaugural University Basketball League (UBL) in 2021 and she is fired up to be back on the court.

“Most of the teams have really quality basketball players so I’m really enjoying the competition. It’s great to see a young group of basketballers rise up to the challenge,” says Donders of the UBL.

“We have a nice group of girls so it’s been a lot of fun for me.”

Donders does not have much spare time, as she juggles full time study, part-time coaching at Matthew Flinders College, as well as being a personal trainer and her own basketball training commitments.

On her aspirations for basketball and life, Francis is excited to stay in Australia and find a teaching job following her graduation from USC.

Donders aspires to get to NBL1 level or even the WNBL, and after seeing her skills on the court and meeting the passionate and determined person, nothing seems impossible.

Catch Donders #10 on court this week in Round Five of the UBL where USC travel to take on Victoria University in their final round matches with the women’s team looking for a win to keep their finals hopes alive!

Round Five kicks off on Tuesday 18 May, catch every game live and on-demand on Cluch TV.

Jump on to see the highlights from Round Four here.

For the latest UBL news click here

The race is on for the top four to reach the inaugural 2021 UBL finals

In case you missed it:

USYD and UTS have cemented themselves as finals contenders following a heart stopping game on Thursday afternoon where Ryan Abbott (Bachelor of Arts – Media & Communications) pulled out an incredible three pointer in the last second of overtime to win the match for USYD.

Top 5 Plays of the Week for Round Four of the 2021 UBL

On home turf, the USC Spartans men came away with a brilliant comeback win in overtime to beat MELB and grab their first three points on the ladder.

UWA Maali had a long flight to the Sunshine Coast to match up against the strong USC Spartans teams and managed to get two hard-fought wins for their women’s and men’s teams.

USYD women have jumped to the top of the ladder following two convincing wins against the VU and UTS women’s teams.

This week is Pride Round for the UBL as we celebrate inclusion and diversity in university sport. Read more