Former CWU basketball star leads Australian club to championship

Former CWU basketball standout Samantha Bowman continues to raise the bar for herself and her professional club in Australia, helping the Rockhampton Cyclones win the National Basketball League 1 North Championship earlier this month.

Bowman, who just completed her second season with the club, averaged 15.3 points per game and played all 120 minutes of the 2-1 series victory over the 2023 champion Northside Wizards.

In game one of the series, Bowman contributed 15 points, nine rebounds and one steal, and followed that up with 17 points, five rebounds, one steal and one block in game two. In the third and deciding game on August 3, she put up 14 points, six rebounds, six steals, and two assists.

Heading into the playoffs, Bowman posted averages of 19.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.7 blocks, and 2.2 steals per game for the Cyclones.

During her senior season at Central in 2023, Bowman was named the GNAC Player of the Year and Division II Roy Lenz National Player of the Year. She is the GNAC’s all-time leading rebounder and holds a number of CWU program records. Bowman also led the entire NCAA in rebounds per game during the 2022 season.

Bowman’s career numbers with the Wildcats include 13.6 points per game, 10.2 rebounds per game, with career totals of 167 blocks, 129 steals, 1,632 points and 1,219 rebounds.

She was recently featured in the spring 2024 edition of Crimson & Black magazine.