HOT PROPERTY: Tasmania's Hollie Grima is in demand in WNBL circles and has been described as the next Lauren Jackson.
SYDNEY - Not content with winning three WNBL titles in four years, the Canberra Capitals are set to bolster their star- studded squad further by signing "the next Lauren Jackson".
The Capitals - fresh from last weekend's Jackson-inspired WNBL grand final win over the Sydney Flames - are poised to win a tug-of-war over in-demand free agent and AIS centre Hollie Grima.
Canberra is expected to stitch up a deal with the 19-year-old former Tasmanian after meeting with her management in two weeks, boosting a team that already boasts Opals star Jackson and WNBA guard Kristen Veal.
Grima is expected to decide between three clubs after finishing eighth in WNBL scoring this season, averaging 14.2 points a game, and finishing second only to Jackson in rebounding (10.6).
It looms as a hectic fortnight for Grima, who is resting in her home city, Launceston, before linking with the Australian under-23 team, the Sapphires, for a Melbourne camp from March 10-13.
Grima - Basketball Australia's 2001-02 junior player of the year - will join a class training squad also boasting Adelaide forward Laura Summerton, who was with the Tasmanian in the Opals' 2002 world titles bronze medal campaign.
After the camp, a 12-strong team will be selected to fly out on April 9 for a Four Nations Tournament in China against the Chinese senior team, a US college outfit and either Japan or Chinese Taipei.
The Sapphires will then contest the World Championships for Young Women at Sibenik, Croatia from July 25 to August 3.
The addition of Grima would further revitalise a Capitals outfit which has Jackson and Veal under contract for another two years and veteran Lucille Bailie committed to returning as skipper.
SAPPHIRES SQUAD: Hollie Grima (AIS), Gabrielle Richards (AIS), Emma Randall (AIS), Katie Davis (AIS), Kelly Wilson (AIS), Jessica Mahony (Adelaide Lighting), Laura Summerton (Adelaide Lightning), Monique Bowley (Adelaide Lightning), Shelley Hammonds (Sydney Flames), Briana Hennessy (Sydney Flames), Carly Wilson (Dandenong Rangers), Michelle Musselwhite (Dandenong Rangers), Allison Downie (Dandenong Rangers), Samantha Richards (Dandenong Rangers), Tania Heritage (Townsville Fire).
Source: http://www.examiner.com.au/story.asp?id=165438.
