Returning Roscoe doing it for her Dad

Featured image: Michael Farnell @sportsimageryau

Sam Roscoe was setting up her future in England but life brought her home and now she'll play the rest of her career honouring her late father who was her biggest fan and couldn’t be happier to be back at Lakeside Lightning in NBL1 West.

Roscoe was quite content to retire at the end of the 2024 season from playing in the NBL1 on the back of a career she was deservedly proud of that started in the SBL at the Warwick Senators in 2015, then saw her head to college at North Dakota and play professionally throughout Europe.

She also played a total of 153 games across the SBL/NBL1 West at the Senators, Lakeside, Eastern Suns and then finally in 2024, the Mandurah Magic before it was time to set up a new life.

Her and long-term partner Raphell Thomas-Edwards made the move to Bristol, England, to set up their life both in a basketball and working sense, but then it was the worst possible news that brought Roscoe back home.

The biggest supporter in her entire career has been her Dad, Gary, but when he passed away suddenly late last year, she had to come back home and be there for his wife, and her Mum so they could pull together as a family.

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Roscoe will now dedicate the rest of her career to him and it was an easy decision to make her return to the NBL1 West with Lakeside in 2026 having won a championship there back in 2018.

It's a reunion with coach Craig Mansfield, but there's never a moment that her Dad isn’t on her mind when she steps on the court.

She's now wearing the No. 12 in tribute to him and while she misses him every day, she'll make sure his memory is never forgotten.

"I actually chose my number this year as it's his birthdate so I've dedicated this season or however long I keep going now to him," Roscoe said.

"I think too throughout the league, a lot of people of the older generation of around my age, everyone knew him because as soon as he walked into the stadium he was the loudest and most vocal, and always the No. 1 fan for the team and not just me.

"I definitely feel that missing in the games but also wearing that jersey for him, every time that national anthem is going all I'm doing is thinking of him and dedicating each game to him, which is very special. I feel like he is there with me."

Feeling ahead of trip to Kalgoorlie

In the immediate future, though, Roscoe has played a key role in Lakeside returning to the finals again in 2026 after a tough year in 2025 with her as the starting centre and delivering 10.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 blocks a game while playing almost 33 minutes.

That is with Mansfield also returning as coach in 2026 after the pair were instrumental in that 2018 championship triumph for the Lightning.

Lakeside were able to win three of their last five games to finish with a 9-11 record in seventh position to now set up a trip to Kalgoorlie to take on the Goldfields Giants this Saturday night for an elimination final.

Roscoe is proud of how the Lightning have built throughout the season and now looks forward to continuing their run beyond Saturday night.

"I think being on that line of making finals or not, we were really determined in that last game to really push and get momentum for this game," Roscoe said.

"Obviously going all the way to Kal is not the most enjoyable road trip, but we're definitely focused and ready to go.

"I think through the season we had some teething some problems figuring out different situations, but I think we're getting to a good point in our season and I feel like we're starting to peak at the right moment.

"As long as we keep the momentum up from what we've done the last couple of games, we should hopefully have a good run in playoffs."

Right decision to come back to Perth

Roscoe was excited to be starting a new life with her partner Thomas-Edwards over in Bristol and she was enjoying working at Bristol Sport putting her master's in business management to good use.

However, there's no way she could make any other decision than come back to Perth to be with her family, she's now happy to settle back home and is in the process of getting back into working combined with playing back at a higher level in the NBL1 than she was in England.

"Obviously with my dad's passing, it's definitely been the right decision coming home and as soon as I landed in Perth I felt I was in the right place and situation," Roscoe said.

"And then naturally in England, you've either got the professional league or not professional, so being able to come back and be in this semi-professional league that is ran very professionally, it just feels like I'm exactly where I need to be.

"I'm very settled and very comfortable and happy with being back for sure."

Easy decision to return to Lakeside

When Roscoe was back in Perth, basketball wasn’t necessarily on her mind but given she is yet to even turn 31, there was no reason to not come back to play too.

Then when Mansfield was announced to return to Lakeside as coach, there was nowhere else she could consider playing and she's been happy with that decision now ever since.

"I think for me coming home I was actually speaking with Craig prior to even thinking about playing," Roscoe said.

"Then the opportunity came up and he mentioned that there was a chance for me to come back and play for him, and I mean I love Lakeside and community so having played there before I knew what I was walking into.

"I absolutely love it and then Craig being back there too meant it was a very easy decision."

Feeling right back at home

From the moment Roscoe first walked back into the Lakeside Recreation Centre she felt right back at home even though she hadn’t played with the Lightning since the 2018 championship winning season.

She had played with Warwick, Kalamunda and Mandurah since to wrap up her NBL1 career up to the end of 2024, but walking back into Lakeside just felt right especially to be able to look up fondly at that 2018 banner.

"Being there prior and enjoying my experience already, as soon as I walked back into the stadium people were saying welcome back or that it's great to have you back," Roscoe said.

"So it really felt like a very comforting situation to come back to and I felt very much at home. Then looking up at that championship banner is definitely a nice memory and motivator too."

Body getting used to playing big minutes again

When Roscoe did talk with coach Mansfield about coming back to play for him at the Lightning in 2026, she didn’t necessarily expect that to be as the starting five and logging 32.6 minutes a game.

As it's turned out, her and Sam Lubcke have been holding down the front court for Lakeside. She has enjoyed the challenges and has been feeling more and more comfortable back playing at the NBL1 level the longer the season's gone on.

"It's holding up surprisingly well and I was still playing non-professional back in Bristol but the level was quite different to what we have here," Roscoe said.

"So coming back I've also noticed that the league is getting a lot more competitive which is a very good thing. It's growing in professionalism, everybody is getting stronger and bigger, and more agile.

"So I did have a bit of an adjustment period and also coming back into a professional setting like this, it took a bit of time to get my body right and get back to it.

"But I think I'm starting to really feel like myself again the last couple of games so that's exciting to put the work in and start to get rewarded and feel a bit more like myself."

Sharing a front court with another Sam

While Roscoe is playing the 32.6 minutes for 10.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists for Lakeside, her front court running buddy Sam Lubcke is also producing 10.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28.2 minutes.

The pair are both championship winners in the league with Lubcke's title coming at the Willetton Tigers back in 2021 when she was also Grand Final MVP.

Roscoe has loved sharing that front court with her.

"I've loved it and she's such a tough person but also such a sweet person so both on and off the court I've absolutely loved it," Roscoe said.

"I think too there's that complementing that we both can play inside but also play outside and it's been a lot of fun playing with her this year."

Moving back with basketball-playing partner

Roscoe did move to Bristol to set up a life with long-term partner Raphell Thomas-Edwards who was playing at the Bristol Flyers while she was working with Bristol Sport on the management side.

But the couple are now setting up life again in Perth with Roscoe getting back her feet on the hunt for a new job while juggling playing in the NBL1, and Thomas-Edwards is working as the high performance coordinator at the Eastern Suns where he played back in 2024 as an import.

"It's a big decision for both of us, but him specifically to move back here but I think having that support and we have been together so long, at this point we're a unit," Roscoe said.

"So having him here is just an amazing support both for me and my family. I'm very grateful, I found a good one."