Former Silver Ferns captain Ana Noovao has died aged 58.
Noovao rose through the youth ranks of New Zealand netball in the 1980s before making the Silver Ferns in 1988 aged 20.
She was made vice-captain for the 1990 Commonwealth Games and at the 1991 World Cup, and was elevated to captain a year later.
Netball New Zealand's website described her as an "exceptionally gifted midcourter, with superb vision and the power to lead".
Across her career, Noovao would not play on Sundays for religious reasons.
After her playing days finished, Noovao took up coaching – taking the Cook Islands to a seventh-place finish at the 2007 World Cup.
Posts from family and friends on social media paid tribute to Noovao.
She was described as a beloved mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, aunty, and friend.
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