#FormerColonialWatch: Holly Forbes Makes Professional Debut for South Adelaide in Australia

Former+Robert+Morris+forward+Holly+Forbes+signed+with+the+South+Adelaide+Panthers+of+the+NBL1+League+in+Australia.+Photo+credit%3A+Nick+Hedderick

Nick Hedderick

Former Robert Morris forward Holly Forbes signed with the South Adelaide Panthers of the NBL1 League in Australia. Photo credit: Nick Hedderick

Ethan Morrison, Assistant Sports Editor

Former Robert Morris University forward Holly Forbes made her professional debut for the South Adelaide Panthers of the NBL1 league on June 18 as the Panthers took on the Norwood Flames.

In her professional debut, the Panthers fell to the Flames by a final score of 76-56. During the contest, Forbes totaled six points in the loss going two for six from the field and zero for two from beyond the arc.

She appeared in another game this past Saturday as she put together a nine-point performance shooting three for eight from the field and three for seven from the charity stripe.

Before her time as a Colonial, she spent time at Mineral Area College in Missouri where she was a two-time NJCAA Division I All-America player. In her final season with Mineral Area, she averaged a double-double with 16.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

In her first season with the Colonials, Forbes started all 30 games and averaged 4.8 points per game and ranked third on the team in field goal percentage, shooting at a 41 percent clip. She helped the Colonials to the NEC regular-season title in the 2019-20 season and a trip to the NEC semifinals where she tallied four points, three rebounds, and a steal against Wagner on March 8.

Forbes once again started every game in her Senior season as she averaged six points per game and reached double figures on two occasions.

For her graduate season, she transferred to UT Martin where she enjoyed an impressive graduate season with the Skyhawks as she was named a two-time OVC newcomer of the week while putting up a career-high 20 points against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 14 and averaging 9.5 points per game in 26 games over the course of the season.

Forbes is not the first athlete in the family to make the jump into professional athletics as her brother Drew Forbes was selected in the sixth round by the Cleveland Browns in the 2019 NFL draft.

Forbes also is not the first women’s basketball player to start her professional career in Australia as former Colonial Guard Megan Smith inked a deal with the Southern Peninsula Sharks after graduating in 2018.