Opals fall short of Belgium, qualification final awaits
Opals downed by Belgium 80 - 68 at Berlin Arena
Renae Garlepp joined the Opals coaching staff in 2023, making her international coaching debut at that year's FIBA Women's Asia Cup in Sydney. She is part of the Opals coaching panel for the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup in Berlin alongside Paul Goriss and Kennedy Kereama.
Garlepp's coaching path began in 2016 when former NBL player Ben Knight invited her to coach a school team, and she has since worked at nearly every level of Australian basketball. She has led the Norths Bears in the NBL1 East competition, winning two NBL1 Coach of the Year awards and an NBL1 championship, and has coached numerous junior state and representative teams.
In 2023, Garlepp joined the Sydney Flames as an assistant coach in the WNBL, a role she held for two seasons before being named interim head coach in November 2025 following the club's split with Guy Molloy. She led the Flames through the remainder of the season and was signed to a two-year deal as permanent head coach in December 2025.
At the national team level, Garlepp was named head coach of the Australian Gems (under-19 women's team) and led them to a silver medal at the 2025 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup in Czechia, losing only to the United States in the gold-medal game. She was named Best Coach of the tournament for her efforts.
A former Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder, Garlepp represented Australia at the FIBA U19 and U21 World Cups and won a gold medal with the Opals at the 2007 FIBA Oceania Championship for Women. She went on to play 58 games for the senior Opals team.
In a decorated 10-year professional playing career across Australia and Europe, Garlepp won the WNBL Rookie of the Year award in 2004–05 and two WNBL championships, with the Adelaide Lightning (2007–08) and Bendigo Spirit (2012–13). She was named Grand Final MVP in 2008 and still holds the record for most points scored in a WNBL grand final, with 32 points for Adelaide against the Sydney Uni Flames. She retired from the WNBL in 2014.

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