Jacinta Scott was thrown in the deep end when she made her Big V debut in 2003.
At just 14 years of age and with there being no youth league competition at that time, she stepped on to the court with the Craigieburn Eagles’ senior side.
While she only played a couple of matches that year, the experience set the tone for her basketball career across three clubs – the Eagles, Hume City Broncos and Ringwood.
Playing with Hume City Broncos, Scott has this season passed the 300-game milestone.
“It’s been a little surreal to be able to sustain playing for this long,” Scott said.
“I started playing basketball when I was six and moved into senior basketball when I was 14. I’m now 26 … to have been able to play 300 games is an achievement.”
Scott started her basketball career at Broadmeadows before playing at Craigieburn when she was 13. She soon found herself in the Big V side.
“It was a little bit crazy as I’d just moved clubs and started playing juniors there,” she said.
“I got the call up to come and train with the senior side and it grew from there.
“In my first season, I think I played a couple of games. I think once my first season was up I was a regular.”
Scott was part of Craigieburn’s 2006 division 2 premiership side then made the move back to Broadmeadows and the Broncos in 2008.
She broke her leg early in the season and missed the Broncos’ first state championship title.
She moved across to fellow state championship side Ringwood two years later. During her three years at the Hawks, Scott did a lot of driving around the state as part of both the club’s women’s and youth league squads.
“If we played at home or played away together it was good,” Scott said.
“If we were playing at two different venues it was a lot of driving.”
Scott returned to Broadmeadows in 2013.
“Broadmeadows has always been home for me and it’s where I’ve always wanted to finish up,” Scott said.
The move reunited her with coach Warren Taylor – the pair had previously worked together at Craigieburn.
“I’m glad I returned … three grand finals in three years is a good achievement,” Scott said.
The Broncos won the 2013 and 2014 grand final series before losing to Ringwood in 2015.
The loss prompted Scott to play on but she said she doesn’t know what the future holds after this season.
“I said to myself before the finals series [last year] that if we had won, I would have finished on that,” she said.
“When we went down I thought, I can’t go out on a loss in a championship.
“We’ve got a really good bunch of girls who have played together for a few years.
“The environment and community at Broadmeadows has brought me back.”
