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SHE was the first Australian - male or female - to win a US college sports scholarship and instrumental in initiating basketball for women in the 1950s. And that is barely the tip of the iceberg of what the late great Basketball SA Hall of Fame Legend Lorraine Eiler achieved in an outstanding and unrivalled sporting career, her name now forever enshrined in our folklore.

Ahead of tip-off for the 2025 NBL1 Central season, Basketball SA announced last week the Halls Medal as the competition's fairest and most brilliant women's player, has officially been rebranded as the Lorraine Eiler Medal.

It joins the (Noel) Wollacott Medal for the men's fairest and most brilliant player as the iconic and most coveted individual award in the state and inherits a long history.

For 60 years from 1964-2024, the Halls Medal symbolised excellence in South Australian women’s basketball. Previously, from the late 1950s to 1963, the women's best and fairest award also was the Woollacott Medal.

But ahead of the 1964 season, Halls, an SA soft drink firm prominent at the time - Halls Lemonade was second to none! - took over sponsorship of the prestigious honour established to recognise the premier player in what then was the District Women’s competition.

As per the AFL's Brownlow Medal, referees cast votes of a 3-2-1 basis after every regular season game to determine the winner, giving the medal considerably greater prestige and status than the annual MVP award.

It has been the premier individual award through the state's elite and varied transformations from District Basketball, to State League, BankSA League, CBA Central Conference, Premier League and now NBL1 Central.

Past winners include some of Australian basketball's all-time greats such as Rachael Sporn (West Adelaide, 1989, 1993), Suzy Batkovic (West Adelaide, 2002), Julie Nykiel (Noarlunga City 1985, 1991), Alex Wilson (Eastern 2017), Jenny Cheesman (Noarlunga City 1974, 1977 1978), Ilze Nagy (Sturt 1973, 1984), Kristen Veal (Norwood, 1999), Vikki Kelson (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005) and most recently, Casey Samuels (Central District Lions 2024).

Renaming the Halls Medal as the Lorraine Eiler Medal celebrates a genuine trailblazer of women’s basketball in Australia.

A born leader, Lorraine captained South Australia’s state team at the first-ever Australian Championship in 1955, winning the first of nine consecutive national titles.

She was captain of Australia’s first-ever national women’s team, leading the Opals at the 1957 FIBA World Championship in Brazil having only taken up basketball three years earlier.

She already excelled at netball, where she represented Australia and led the national team to victory over England in 1956, and also was an A-grade tennis and squash player.

Our first bona fide basketball superstar, Lorraine was inducted into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Sport SA Hall of Fame in 2015 and remains one of the most influential figures in Australian women’s basketball history.

“On behalf of the Eiler family, I would like to thank Basketball South Australia for bestowing this tremendous honour upon mum," Lorraine’s daughter, Jodi Mavrinac (née Eiler) said.

"Mum was a humble person when it came to her sporting achievements, but I know she would be smiling down upon us today. When we talk about heroes in life, my brother Dana and I didn’t have to look far afield.

"Mum always led by example in everything she did, and I cannot think of anyone more deserving of such recognition. The renaming of the Halls Medal to the Lorraine Eiler Medal fills our hearts to know her legacy will inspire generations of women and live on through the sport she loved so much.”

The Basketball SA Awards and History Committee fought relentlessly, strongly and judiciously to make the renaming a reality and for a look at Lorraine's amazing full back story, click this LINK and prepare to be amazed.