CANBERRA (2016 Rio Games) - Australia's women's team is in a very good place right now.

A year on from a FIBA Women's World Championship campaign in Turkey that saw the Opals finish third and reaffirm their status as one of the powerhouses in international basketball, national team coach Brendan Joyce says the program is strong and getting stronger.

One important order of business was to win the 2015 FIBA Oceania Women's Championship, which the Australians did by beating New Zealand in convincing fashion, 61-41 in Melbourne in Game 1.

And they finished the Tall Ferns off with an 80-63 victory in Tauranga.

Another aim was to get experience for young players, an objective that was also met.

Tessa Lavey, 22, and Stephanie Talbot, 21, logged plenty of minutes on the hardwood.

Joyce had wanted Erin Phillips, 30, to take a break with the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA and help the backcourt in the Oceania qualifiers but an injury prevented her from taking part.

"That injury turned out to be a positive because Lavey got to lead the Opals and she did it in great fashion," Joyce said.

"She was probably the best player over the two-game series.

"She played 30-plus minutes and led us better than expected."

Lavey made statistical contributions but it was more about her managing the team which really pleased me. - Joyce

Long before the Oceania Championship, the 1.86m Talbot raised eyebrows on the Opals' tour of Europe, especially on the defensive end.

"Right now, I have no problem in saying she can defend the best in the world," Joyce said.

Talbot, who was selected in the 2014 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury, excelled on the Opals tour of Europe, which saw them visit Serbia, Italy and Spain.

She didn't back down against Serbia's Ana Dabovic when Australia played the team that was warming up for a EuroBasket Women title run, or Spain's Alba Torrens.

Talbot blended in well with her Opals teammates both on and off the court in Europe.

"I really made a strong emphasis to get Talbot a lot of international experience with the senior team," Joyce said.

"She just played fantastic against Ana Dabovic, showed she can compete with the best in the world.

"She did exceptionally well against Alba Torrens of Spain, too.

"Steph's only just turned 21. She was outstanding.

"She also played against the Japanese and was our leading scorer.

"I just remember in one of the games against Serbia, she had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists."

"Steph showed she can step up to the plate."

That 2, 3 position is going to be very competitive when a kid like that [Talbot] is coming on. - Joyce

Joyce sees both guards making it in the WNBA and in Europe, but not just yet.

"Lavey is now the captain of the Perth Lynx and I think she is going to have a long career," the coach said.

"One of the WNBA teams has talked to me about the possibility of her playing there but I don't see it happening in the Olympic year.

"She'll make a strong commitment to the Opals program. She's probably not ready to go to the WNBA to play big minutes, probably the following year. 

"Steph, I expect her to be getting contracts from the WNBA and Europe after a couple of more years."

Joyce says there are some veterans, including Lauren Jackson, could feature for Australia at the Olympics.

Rio will be Penny Taylor's last Olympics.  

Marianna Tolo has a good shot of making because her rehab, in Canberra, is going well after having surgery on a torn ACL.

"I just looked at her legs and can't tell which of her knees was the injured one," Joyce said.

There is also giant center Liz Cambage, who ruptured her Achilles a week before the 2014 FIBA Women's World Championship.

Australia had to drop Cambage from the FIBA Oceania Championship squad because she did not arrive at training in time to try and get through a two-hour practice session that was needed to pass her medical clearance.

"It's not as big an issue as people make out," Joyce said.

"To be honest, I wasn't happy about it at the beginning but you know what it's like.

"She had snapped her Achilles tendon and there is a doctor and a surgeon responsible for her and if they let her come back too early, and she snapped her Achilles again, it reflects on them.

"Our doctors, rightfully so, want to make sure she is ready.

"Liz is playing in China so I think that will be good for her to get some games under her belt."

FIBA