Just over year ago Sarah Cannell went through the ultimate high of giving birth to her daughter while being diagnosed with cancer, but the Perry Lakes Hawks championship winner has inspirationally returned to NBL1 West at South West Slammers.
Cannell, then going by her maiden name Donovan before marrying Jake two years ago, last played in the league at the Hawks back in 2021 in a 186-game career that also saw her earn a WNBL opportunity at the Perth Lynx, and win an SBL championship with Perry Lakes in 2017.
All the while she was studying to be a doctor and was always quite the inspirational figure, but nothing can compare to what her last 12 months have been like with her and husband Jake, also an 88-game player, having settled into a new life in Harvey.
When Cannell was 35 weeks into her pregnancy in April last year, she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and had to have that hanging over while giving birth to daughter Alice who has now recently celebrated her first birthday.
After six rounds of chemotherapy and the toughest initiation into motherhood anyone could imagine, Cannell attacked her recovery with her trademark grit and now is in remission and thankful to be back on the NBL1 West basketball court.
It's not at the Hawks purely because it's not realistic to travel to Bendat Basketball Centre from Harvey multiple times a week but Cannell was happy to answer the call of Slammers coach Mark Edman and is now two games into a stint with South West she hopes lasts some time.
Year of having a baby, battling cancer
Nothing could prepare Cannell for the news she received 35 weeks into her pregnancy. Just as she was getting life in order to welcome her and Jake's first child into the world, they were hit for six with the cancer diagnosis.
She was soon able to successfully give birth to daughter Alice who is now happy and thriving just over a year old. Cannell is proud and thankful to be in remission from the Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, but it's been a past 14 months that is hard for her to still comprehend.
"So much happened last year and it has just taught me a lot and that you just never know what's around the corner," Cannell said.
"It makes you realise that life is for living so I think after a year where so much good came out of it by having a beautiful little girl called Alice, then there was going through cancer treatment that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
"It really was completely life stopping, but it does teach you what you want in life and it really makes you grateful for things like your basketball community and family that you do have. It's made us all stronger in the end and I'm just so grateful to be back on a court.
"I didn’t realise how much I missed it until I got told I couldn’t do things like that. As much as it was a challenging and horrific year that I wouldn’t want to do again, there are some gifts to take from it."
Making it back from cancer battle
First of all, Cannell never knew if it was going to be on the cards for her to ever get back to playing basketball after having a child let alone having to then fight through cancer on top of that.
However, now that she can look back on it 14 months on from the diagnosis and several months into remission, she is proud of herself and thankful to the support of husband Jake and her family and friends for helping her get through it.
"It feels a lot longer ago than it actually was because Alice has grown up so much since it happened, but it was just such a terrifying time," Cannell said.
"I'm just really proud of getting back on track and the way both Jake and I have been able to get our lives back up and going. Especially for Jake after losing his brother, Luke, it wasn’t easy then having his wife diagnosed with cancer.
"But to start with I was proud to get back out there running and swimming, and to the point where I can somewhat not embarrass myself on a basketball court.
"I will forever be thankful for moving my body to this point because it's only when you go through something like that you realise how bloody hard it is to get yourself back to a good baseline fitness. I think I'm there and I'm very proud of it."
Coming back to basketball
Given basketball has been such a big part of Cannell's life, she was always open to the prospect of playing again. But it wasn’t really until Slammers coach Mark Edman reached out to her that she thought it could happen immediately in 2025.
She made her return two weeks ago with the Slammers hosting the Perth Redbacks before she also had eight points and seven rebounds this past Friday night against the Rockingham Flames.
Coming back to play is a great reward for the work she's put in to get healthy from what she's been though.
"I just think basketball is one of those things you don't realise how much you've missed until you get back out on the court," Cannell said.
"Coming back for that first session, I hadn’t been nervous going to a basketball court for a very long time but then you get back into the layup lines and everything, and it comes back to you quickly.
"It just felt so good to be back on the court and I'm nowhere near as quick, fast or athletic, but it still feels like it's the same game it was really good just to get back part of it. It was also an absolute relief to get back on the court."
Not playing in a Hawks uniform
The only time Cannell has not played in a Perry Lakes uniform was when pulling on a Lynx one in the WNBL so she wasn’t sure how she would feel playing for another club after her 186 games with the Hawks having started in 2011 with the last appearance in 2021.
However, she quickly realised she quite enjoyed wearing a Slammers uniform.
"I literally have only ever worn blue-and-white and was pretty loyal and local to the Hawks for a long time," Cannell said.
"Putting on red-and-white with the stripes is something I initially thought was going to be a bit harder than it was, but having lived down in the south west now, it didn’t feel too strange.
"Once you start playing basketball it still feels the same whatever colours you are wearing, and I was actually stoked to be wearing the Slammers uniform.
"There's a really good feel in the team with lots of young talent coming up, I'm catching some absolute wicked passes from Kate Fielding, and we've got two lovely imports so it's a lovely group to come into."
Playing against the Hawks
The Slammers had already played the Hawks twice this season by the time Cannell joined the squad so she won't get to play them in 2025, but she's looking forward to it at some point in 2026 all things going well.
"I'm sure it would be strange to start with but some of my best mates have come out of the Hawks, and it's a really good community and even to play against some of them would be fun," she said.
"It's also a club where I picked up my husband so it is somewhere that will always bring back a lot of memories for me, and playing against them really would just be like a scrimmage on a Thursday night training back in the good old days.
"I would be a bit intimidated to play against them right now, though, with how sharp, fit, athletic and strong they are looking. But we'll see what happens next year."
Slammers on the rise
The Slammers women did come into the 2025 season having lost 52 straight matches and having not won a game since 2022, and not won at home at Eaton Recreation Centre since 2019.
That all changed in the very first game of the season when they beat the Eastern Suns. The signs have been encouraging since with Cannell buoyant about how their future looks under coach Edmon.
"I think there's been a real shift in the movement of Slammers and they've really turned the ship around this year," Cannell said.
"There's some incredible growth that's happened just in the last year that I've watched them closely. The club has a strong vision, the culture's changed and the young talent that's coming up are really going to lead the Slammers for a few more years.
"I think if we stay down in the south west and I keep trying to navigate playing basketball with a kid, then I would absolutely love to be part of the Slammers for as long we can pull it off."
Tough schedule ahead
It's not hard to see why Edman put in the call to Cannell when he did because her first two games were against top four team the Redbacks and the reigning champion Flames.
Now the Slammers have two games to come against the undefeated Cockburn Cougars, two games against another top four team the Willetton Tigers, and match ups with two more contenders the Mandurah Magic and Warwick Senators.
Cannell is actually looking forward to all those challenges with her new team.
"When we get on the court and we play the basketball that we are capable of, we really can compete with any team," Cannell said.
"I'm actually looking forward to seeing these strong teams get a little bit nervous and have to bring their best down to the Slammers court.
"I think the Slammers really can compete when they play good basketball, and the team looks good and feels being part of so I'm looking forward to bringing it to these teams."
Growth of the NBL1 West
What has stood out to Cannell above everything else in coming back to play in 2025 is how far the league has grown under the NBL1 banner since she last played in 2021.
With the high quality imports every team now has, the WNBL players across the league and the overall talent level that has gone through the roof, it's another aspect that has her excited to be part of it.
"Looking back to what it was when it was the SBL and now looking at NBL1 West, and it feels like it's so much more professional," Cannell said.
"The names that are coming out of these teams are on international level, and every team has stepped it up. I can't believe, it's really great to be part of and it's great to see how far it's grown and is only going to keep getting better."
Settling in the south west
The Cannell family of three are now more than happy to continue to build on their life in Harvey and the next step in Sarah's return to recovery after what she's been through is getting back to work.
As a qualified doctor, she is going to complete her training to be a GP and then split that work with what she will do in the local hospital.
She's hopeful that all works well with still playing basketball and being a mother.
"Initially we said we'd just come down here for a couple of years, but this is our fourth year now and we really love it," Cannell said.
"It's really good for our work, it's a really nice community down in Harvey and it's nice to live the country life where it's a bit slower paced.
"Both our families are up in Perth so that's the hard part about it, but we'd love to try and make it work for a while longer here especially for my training and we'll just have to navigate that one.
"I'm just about to start rural GP training in the south west. I've committed to doing that part-time and then I'll work a bit in the hospital and a GP practice just to be around a bit more with Alice as much as I can.
"That might help me navigate my next season with basketball too. I still have a bit of training to go but that's all part of it and I'm looking forward to it."