Malta’s gold medallist at the GSSE in Cyprus in June, Loretta Soria Ellul (photo) has been given a deserved mention by website nwi.com, in the US.

Under the heading, ‘Soria helps Malta win gold in XIII Games of the Small States of Europe’, Ryan Metz, Times Correspondent, said that Lorette felt the gold medal win was very prestigious.

Here is the full text of the article, which appeared in nwi.com earlier this month:

“For most, travelling to a small island in the Mediterranean Sea for six weeks would seem like a pleasant vacation.

For IU Northwest assistant women’s basketball coach Loretta Ellul Soria, the trip to Cyprus was pleasant and brought back a pretty nice souvenir. She won a gold medal in women’s basketball representing Malta in the XIII Games of the Small States of Europe

“To win the gold medal in this event is so prestigious,” Ellul Soria said. “It’s something that I’ll remember for a lifetime. Standing up on the podium, I was thinking about my heritage and how hard I worked to get there. It kept the memory of my grandparents and my dad.”

Ellul Soria was born in Australia but played for Malta because her grandparents were from the island.

In 2003, playing at Chicago State, Ellul Soria, 27, was recruited in 2003 to play for Malta after being found as the only NCAA Division I women’s player with Maltese heritage.

Ellul was born in Australia but her late grandparents were Maltese.

“Last year was my first year playing with (Malta),” Ellul Soria said. “It was such a great experience that I definitely wanted to come back this year.”