West Coast to the Best Coast: Teige Morrell and life in the Capital

On Saturday, the UC Capitals secured an important 96-56 win over the Sydney Flames in front of over 3000 fans at the AIS Arena.

It was an important win for the team – a quarter through the season, the Caps had fallen behind in the standing with a 1-4 start, and despite the team remaining generally positive at trainings, a win was good for morale and confidence, especially heading into games at Townsville and against Perth coming up in the schedule.

Zitina Aokuso finally made her much-awaited season debut – albeit an abbreviated one, Sara Blicavs and Kadi Sissoko dazzled from inside-out, Nyadiew Puoch was slicing through the defense and getting buckets at the rim, and Jade Melbourne was orchestrating the offense to perfection committing only a single turnover against her seven assists. Even Canberra’s pride Zara Russell got into the action, scoring her first WNBL career points with a late triple that brought the crowd to its feet.

Amidst all of that, Teige Morrell quietly put together her first double-double of the season. It’s typical of Teige, who moved from the Perth Lynx to play for the Caps this season, to go about her business and play her role mostly in the background.

The veteran centre has put together a very solid stat line of 7.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game for the Caps this season, stepping into a bigger role with the injury to Zitina, and she credits part of her success to the Caps support system that has allowed her to thrive and grow.

“Even from the start, I was already super impressed with the organisation and the entire team not only from a basketball sense, but also from a personal standpoint,” said Teige.

“It’s been a huge growth experience for me stepping into that starting role, but I’ve been really grateful for all the support I’ve received, from Z – who is such a good leader, the coaching staff and the whole group. To have teammates that back you and a coach who believes in you is huge. They’ve just absolutely helped me grow.”

While the 10 point-10 rebound line against Sydney was Teige’s first of the season, double-doubles, of course, aren’t anything new for her as a three-time NBL1 MVP, who is practically a walking double-double at that level. But to do it in the WNBL, in front of her new home fans while contributing to a win was something special for her.

“It’s amazing. I always say never underestimate the power of the community. I love seeing how we pack out the stadium and the support from the community has been huge,” she says.

“Even when we’re out and about around Canberra, we can feel that we have a lot of people backing us and it’s really fun to be a part of it and it definitely gives us a boost when we step out there on the court.”

As Teige continues to get better everyday on court, she has also slowly settled into Canberra off the court. One of the things she regularly does is churn out weekly episodes of her podcast, Pro Ball Buddy, which focuses on the mental aspects of being an athlete.

“Having the right mindset is huge. For me, it’s like 90% of the game, to be able to focus on the right things and having that positivity and a growth mindset,” she says.

“Even for me, I think about the things I teach to the kids I mentor, I always have to remind myself too that yes I am growing, I am getting better, because this is a lot and it’s a big change and I also have to mentor myself in all of this.”

The Canberra lifestyle has also grown quickly on Teige and her husband David. Having spent the past few years out west, the couple welcomed the new adventure in a new city.

“We think that Canberra’s just so gorgeous. We go one walks regularly and just try to find new adventures and checkout new places,” she says.

“Oh and the food scene in Canberra is unreal. We’re a bit of foodies and like trying out new places and we’ve been really impressed with the selection here.”

“We went to Akiba the other day and we loved all the share plates and trying all the different stuff on the menu, and we can’t wait to check out other spots soon!”

You can catch Teige in action back at the AIS on Saturday 29 November as she goes up against her former team, the Perth Lynx for the first time. Tickets available here.

‍