KRISTY Wallace has played a part in Australia’s most successful Olympics ever.

The former Coffs Harbour Suns junior was a member of the Australian Opals team that won bronze in the women’s basketball competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Wallace played 13 minutes in the tournament opener against Nigeria, and 21 minutes in the semi-final game against the USA, in which she scored four points, had three assists, and one steal, as Australia went down 85-64 to the eventual gold medallists.

The Opals would bounce back with a nail biting 85-81 win against Belgium to win the bronze medal.

It’s the third bronze medal Wallace has won with the Opals, after also being a member of the Australian team that finished third on home soil at the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney.

She made her Opals debut as part of Australia’s bronze medal winning team at the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Jordan in 2021.

The 28-year-old has now returned to the USA to resume playing in the best women’s basketball league in the world, the WNBA.

She is currently playing in her third season in the world’s top women’s league, as it recently resumed from its Olympics break.

Wallace is currently averaging 4.6 points and 2 assists while playing 18 minutes a game for the Indiana Fever.

By Aiden BURGESS