Leading up to the 2014 World Championship in Turkey, a number of long-serving players announced their retirements or declared themselves unavailable. Those players included Kristi Harrower, Jenni Screen, Kristen Veal, Abby Bishop, Kathleen MacLeod, Samantha Richards, Suzy Batkovic and Jenna O'Hea. Three weeks before the start of the tournament, Lauren Jackson withdrew from the team because of a knee injury. Two weeks later Liz Cambage ruptured her achilles tendon during a pre-tournament game and was ruled-out because of the injury. This resulted in the selection of seven debutants into the squad of 12, a move seen as ushering in a new era of Opals basketball. Despite the loss of veteran players, the Opals went through the preliminary rounds and quarter-final undefeated, setting up a semi-final clash with USA. In a hard-fought game, the Opals cut the lead from 16 points to just six early in the final quarter, before losing 82–70. The Opals would however claim their third bronze medal at world championships with a comfortable 74–44 win against host nation Turkey. Penny Taylor was named to the tournament All-Star Five.