WHEN Melissa Sinfield, nee McClure, was coming through the ranks of the Horsham Amateur Basketball Association, a national basketball competition for women was uncharted water.
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She trained under Horsham basketball legend Owen Hughan as well as Dick Dewit and Dennis Wiley and quickly found herself representing Victoria Country as a promising young basketballer.
“When I first started coming through the association it was the first time we started travelling around for tournaments around the state,” Sinfield said.
“We used to train on a Sunday night all together with the boys in the under-14s. I went onto represent Vic Country in under-16s and under-18s.”
It quickly became apparent that Sinfield was a talented athlete and she had a decision to make – would she follow the netball or basketball pathway?
“I did have to choose what I was going to play and I chose the basketball path because I could do everything, whereas in netball you are defined to a position,” she said. “I ended up playing a lot of basketball against the boys to push me further.”
At 16 Sinfield moved to Canberra to join the Australian Institute of Sport.
“It was very tough moving away from my family and friends,” she said. “Luckily there were a few other girls from the state team I was in so we all moved together. It was a big move but one that ended up defining my career, because after that I moved to Perth to play.”
Sinfield was going through the AIS at the same time as Australian basketball legend Lauren Jackson.
After her time at the AIS, Sinfield moved to Perth where she played in the Women’s National Basketball League with the Perth Breakers, which was later renamed the Perth Lynx. She said during her time in Horsham she never thought going all the way to a national basketball competition could be a reality.
“Back then we didn’t have any other people who had gone on further from Horsham in basketball to make state teams or anything like that,” she said.
“When we were playing to start with it was just a bit of fun. It wasn’t until I played the state team that I knew I could go a bit further. It wasn’t really until I was on a plane to Canberra that I realised there was a national league.
“Now these guys coming through now know they have myself and Chloe Bibby who have made it to the WNBL and Mitch Creek, Aaron and Shaun Bruce and Shane McDonald through the boys program, so they know it is possible.”
Sinfield had a decorated career in the WNBL – she captained her Perth side and made it to the league’s finals but missed out on claiming a championship.
Her career was capped off following her retirement when Perth retired her number 13 basketball jumper.
If I kept (Lauren Jackson) to 10 points I always considered that a win. She was a fierce competitor and she only split my tongue once from a stray elbow, so I’ll take that.
- Melissa Sinfield
“I played under Tully Bevilaqua, who was our captain, for a few years and she was a great inspiration for me,” Sinfield said.
“To be named captain after she left was very special and then when I retired they retired my singlet which was a huge honour.”
The closest Sinfield came to a championship was the 1998/99 season.
“We lost to the AIS that season who had the likes of Lauren Jackson, Penny Taylor, Belinda Snell, Suzy Batkovic and Kristen Veal – it was an amazingly strong team,” she said.
Sinfield was a defensive-minded player, and led the league for steals in the 2002 season. She said she was often given the task of guarding the opposing team’s most dangerous shooter.
“I was always more defensive minded in my game and I always had to match up against the best players on the opposition teams,” she said.
“I was lining up against Taylor and Jackson and those type of athletes. I prided myself on my defence so it was nice to be able to claim a couple of club awards as defensive player of the club.”
Sinfield said playing directly against Lauren Jackson, widely regarded as one of the most damaging basketballers to have ever played the game worldwide, was a daunting experience.
“Even as a young 14-year-old playing against her was frightening,” Sinfield said.
“She was a phenomenal athlete to play against and I prided myself each time I played her keeping her to a reasonable level. If I kept her to 10 points I always considered that a win. She was a fierce competitor and she only split my tongue once from a stray elbow, so I’ll take that.
“I was giving up some height against Jackson as well but I made up for it being a bit quicker.”
During her career in the WNBL Sinfield and her teammates all had to maintain jobs outside of basketball – playing in America at that time wasn’t really considered an option.
“We all had to work, it’s only just now in the last few years the athletes are being paid as full-time athletes,” she said.
“We had to support ourselves, because the money just wasn’t great. It’s good to see it’s improving now and you can see the improvement in the league.
“The Women’s National Basketball Association in America had started but there weren’t a lot of Australian athletes playing over there during the peak of my career. There wasn’t much of an opportunity like there is now for the girls to play there. It would have been great but I just focused on playing here in Australia.”
I’m really proud of the fact I’ve been able to set a pathway for basketballers in Horsham.
- Melissa Sinfield
Sinfield retired from the national league in 2006 but continued to play in the Western Australian State Basketball League.
“I had always been playing state league in Western Australia for the Perry Lakes Hawks,” she said.
“I won seven championships with them. When I retired I had a child and went back and won another championship and then I retired for good.”
Now Sinfield is focused on her family – she is a mother of three children, Hannah, 11, Mitchell, 9, and Joshua, 6, and is studying nursing.
“I attend home games with my children,” she said.
“My daughter Hannah is quite tall so I’ll try and get her exposed to the sport and see what happens. Perth is home for good I’ve been here for 22 years now. I’m a full-time mum and have just started a nursing degree at university, so I’m getting into a bit of me time now.”
After a long career in basketball, Sinfield said she was proud to have given Horsham athletes the pathway and hope of playing on the country’s biggest stage.
“I’m really proud of the fact I’ve been able to set a pathway for basketballers in Horsham,” she said.
“I’ve been able to go back to Horsham and speak at a reunion a couple years back. It’s nice to know the children coming through now have more opportunities.
“Some junior players will have to drive down to Melbourne on a Friday night to play in a competition there like I did with my mum, but now they know you can get the rewards to go on and play in a national league.”
