SHENZHEN (China) - Esra McGoldrick finds herself coming full circle after being named part of the New Zealand lineup set to compete in the highly anticipated FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2025 on July 13-20.
The 25-year-old is among the 12 Tall Ferns tasked to give the country its breakthrough medal in the continent's most prestigious women's basketball event although it won't be just another tour of duty for her.
Because she'll be back in the competition where her Tall Ferns journey began.
The native of Rangiora, Canterbury made her FIBA senior debut in the 2023 Women's Asia Cup, about seven years after a commendable stint with the Junior Tall Ferns in the FIBA U18 Oceania Championship for Women.
New Zealand made it all the way to the Semi-Finals in Sydney and McGoldrick did her part in that campaign, contributing per-game averages of 5.4 points and 4.6 rebounds - definitely not bad for a first rodeo.
Since then, she'd become a mainstay of the proud program.
McGoldrick would suit up for the women's national team in the next two FIBA tournaments that followed after the 2023 Women's Asia Cup, and made it a point to prove why she deserved both of those call-ups.
Hardly bothered by the bright lights, she impressed during the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Xi'an, China as her batch wanted to end the Tall Ferns' lengthy absence in the Summer Games.
New Zealand ultimately fell short of attaining that goal but there was no denying how good McGoldrick was. There, she led the team in scoring with 10.7 points and also normed 6.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and a block.
She continued her solid play in the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Mexico, where she posted norms of 8.3 points and 9.3 rebounds alongside 2.0 assists and a steal.
Her finest showing in that meet came against Mozambique, where she finished with 15 points - spiked by a trio of three-pointers - and 18 rebounds, on top of 3 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks in their 79-63 victory.
McGoldrick has shown, too, that she could be as effective in the halfcourt discipline, having played a crucial role in the Tall Ferns' back-to-back silver-medal finishes in the FIBA Asia Cup 3x3 in 2023 and 2024.
Lest we forget that she's also hit strides in her pro career. After turning lots of heads in the New Zealand scene, McGoldrick has gone on to play in Australia's Women's National Basketball League with the Bendigo Spirit.
She is currently with Casey in the NBL1 still Down Under, where she's been averaging nearly 14 points on 44.9-percent shooting from the field together with 9.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.5 blocks for the Cavaliers.
Soon, she'll be donning New Zealand's classic black-and-white jerseys again, carrying with her the experiences earned from the last couple of years as she will have to embrace a much bigger role this time around.
The Shenzhen-bound Tall Ferns won't have two of their stars in Charlisse Leger-Walker and 2023 Women's Asia Cup All-Star Five member Penina Davidson, with the former still recovering from an ACL injury.
That's why it won't just be an ordinary comeback for McGoldrick.
And it would be an even more poetic return if they'd all be able to snare that elusive medal.
FIBA