Bendigo_Spirit
Bendigo Spirit
Basketball team in Bendigo, Victoria
Bendigo Spirit is one of three Victorian basketball teams in the Australian Women's National Basketball League.[1] The team, based in the regional city of Bendigo, Victoria, joined the competition from the 2007/08 season.
| Bendigo Spirit | |
|---|---|
| Leagues | WNBL |
| Founded | 2007 |
| History | Bendigo Spirit 2007–present |
| Arena | Red Energy Arena, Bendigo |
| Capacity | 4,000+ |
| Location | Bendigo, Victoria |
| Team colors | Dodger blue, yellow |
| Main sponsor | TAC |
| Head coach | Kennedy Kereama |
| Ownership | Sports Entertainment Network |
| Championships | 2 (2013, 2014) |
The Bendigo Spirit were formed in 2007 and started playing out of Bendigo Stadium, the first side based in regional Victoria. Coached by Bernie Harrower, the team was led by his daughter, Australian Opal and captain, Kristi Harrower. The Spirit have won the WNBL Championship twice (2013 & 2014) led by the likes of Harrower, Gabrielle Richards, Kelly Wilson as well as imports Chelsea Aubry and the now naturalised, Kelsey Griffin.
| Season | Standings | Regular season | Finals | Head coach | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | PCT | ||||
| Bendigo Spirit | ||||||
| 2007–08 | 7th | 10 | 14 | 41.6 | Did not qualify | Bernie Harrower |
| 2008–09 | 5th | 14 | 8 | 63.6 | Lost Elimination Final (Adelaide, 73–81) | Bernie Harrower |
| 2009–10 | 5th | 13 | 9 | 59.1 | Lost Elimination Final (Townsville, 73–84) | Bernie Harrower |
| 2010–11 | 3rd | 15 | 7 | 68.2 | Won Semi Final (Logan, 74–53) Lost Preliminary Final (Canberra, 78–83) |
Bernie Harrower |
| 2011–12 | 6th | 12 | 10 | 54.5 | Did not qualify | Bernie Harrower |
| 2012–13 | 1st | 21 | 3 | 87.5 | Won Semi Final (Dandenong, 78–71) Won Grand Final (Townsville, 71–57) |
Bernie Harrower |
| 2013–14 | 1st | 22 | 2 | 91.6 | Won Semi Final (Dandenong, 71–62) Won Grand Final (Townsville, 94–83) |
Bernie Harrower |
| 2014–15 | 2nd | 15 | 7 | 68.2 | Lost Semi Final (Townsville, 63–82) Won Preliminary Final (Sydney, 85–77) Lost Grand Final (Townsville, 65–75) |
Bernie Harrower |
| 2015–16 | 6th | 12 | 12 | 50.0 | Did not qualify | Simon Pritchard |
| 2016–17 | 6th | 13 | 11 | 54.1 | Did not qualify | Simon Pritchard |
| 2017–18 | 8th | 4 | 17 | 19.1 | Did not qualify | Simon Pritchard |
| 2018–19 | 7th | 7 | 14 | 33.3 | Did not qualify | Simon Pritchard |
| 2019–20 | 7th | 5 | 16 | 23.8 | Did not qualify | Tracy York |
| 2020 | 8th | 0 | 13 | 0.0 | Did not qualify | Tracy York |
| 2021–22 | 5th | 7 | 9 | 43.7 | Did not qualify | Tracy York |
| 2022–23 | 5th | 11 | 10 | 52.3 | Did not qualify | Tracy York |
| 2023–24 | 6th | 11 | 10 | 52.3 | Did not qualify | Kennedy Kereama |
| Regular season | 192 | 172 | 53.0 | 2 Minor Premierships | ||
| Finals | 6 | 5 | 54.5 | 2 WNBL Championships | ||
Source: Bendigo Spirit Archived 22 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine
Current roster
| 2022-23 Bendigo Spirit roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Kennedy Kereama
John White Deanna Smith Zoe Carr
Updated: 27 January 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former players
Kathleen MacLeod, (2007–08)- Jenna O'Hea, (2007–08)
- Kristi Harrower, (2008–2015)
Chelsea Aubry, (2009–2015)- Heather Oliver, (2010–2018)
/ Kelsey Griffin, (2012–2018)- Sara Blicavs, (2013–2015)
- Belinda Snell, (2014–2016)
- Betnijah Laney, (2017–18)
- Jennie Rintala
- Carley Ernst
Chevannah Paalvast- Alicia Froling
- Amelia Todhunter
Head coaches
| Bendigo Spirit head coaches | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Start | End | Seasons | Regular season | Finals | ||||||
| W | L | PCT | G | W | L | PCT | G | ||||
| Bernie Harrower | 2007 | 2015 | 8 | 121 | 61 | 66.4 | 182 | 6 | 5 | 54.5 | 11 |
| Simon Pritchard | 2015 | 2018 | 4 | 36 | 54 | 40.0 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Tracy York | 2019 | 2022 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 23.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Kennedy Kereama | 2022 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
In April 2022, the team's WNBL license was purchased from Bendigo Stadium Limited (BSL) by Sports Entertainment Network (SEN).[2][3]
- "WNBL Media Guide 2016–17" (PDF). wnbl.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
- "BENDIGO SPIRIT FUTURE LOCKED IN FOR ANOTHER 10 YEARS, SEN TO ACQUIRE LICENCE". wnbl.basketball/bendigo. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
- "SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK GROW BASKETBALL PRESENCE WITH WNBL BENDIGO SPIRIT ACQUISITION". sen.com.au. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
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