Breaking barriers in basketball: The women driving change

As part of the NBL Group’s celebrations of the 2026 International Women’s Day, three significant female figures in the basketball community recently caught up to discuss their journeys and the growth of the sport.

NBL commentator and former professional netball player Kelsey Browne, NBL and WNBL referee Shannon Jennings and former Australian Opals captain Tess Madgen sat down to share their experiences in sport and how much hoops has changed since they were all first involved.

“It is so important to have everyone so included and feeling like they are a part of the fabric of what this sport is because basketball is not basketball,” Browne said.

“Sport is not sport without the females and the people that come behind it. That includes every marginalised community as well, because we have so many people involved who bring such great value.

“We love where we've been, and we always have to celebrate that because we wouldn't be where we are now without having been there.”

Jennings, who started refereeing as a 12-year-old in Victoria, completely agrees with Browne’s sentiment, while outlining the challenges she faced.

“Growing up, I definitely was treated differently,” Jennings said.

“Domestically, the cultural side of being a girl, refereeing men's basketball, you get treated differently from players, coaches and spectators, all the way from grassroots to state level competitions.

“Where I've gotten to now, I'm either oblivious to being treated differently, because I'm so focused on doing my job that I'm not letting the outside noise shift me, or I'm so used to hearing those things that, like, it's just water off a duck's back.

“[Now] I don't think I'm getting treated differently where I am now, but that's off the back of pushing through a lot of stuff over a really long period of time.”

This resiliency and mastery of her craft saw Jennings develop into one of the pioneers of basketball in this country.

“I didn't really think that it was possible to referee in the NBL until about four years ago,” she said.

“There weren't very many female referees in the NBL. I know that I'm the second ever Victorian female to step on the floor. It didn't really feel like something that I could do.

“I've heard my whole journey that it's a boys' club, you're not going to get there, girls don't belong out there. I've heard an array of stuff over the years, and then at that point, I was like, whoa, I'm going to listen to that noise because that noise is pretty loud, but there is a chance.

“Maybe it's only a two per cent chance, but as I got to meet more NBL referees and talked with them, I felt welcomed by that group of people, as I learnt it's not a boys club.

“The attitude and the culture of those people, they don't believe that or feel that, and I'm going to be welcome in this space.

“[Now] I know that I am a role model, and sometimes that feels really scary to me because I still feel like I'm so fresh in my journey, but I know that it's important that I work really hard so that other people can do the same behind me.”

During her journey, WNBL legend Madgen, who captained the Opals to the 2024 Paris Olympic bronze medal, detailed why it’s so important for women to have the support of their male counterparts each and every day.

“It is so important for men to stand by us as allies because we know that for our society to be at its best, we need more voices at the table,” Madgen said.

“We need to balance the scales, which is the International Women’s Day theme. We need more diversity in all facets.

“For our society to really prosper and get to where it needs to be, while continuing to elevate and grow, we do need a diverse range of voices.

“It’s not acceptable in today’s day and age to have any marginalised area, like gender, stop us from getting to where we want to go.”

Upon reflecting on the trio’s in-depth discussion, Browne knows how important celebrating women and all their accomplishments is, not just on International Women’s Day, but every day.

“It's beautiful and important to see the emotion that all of us sit here with and have,” Browne said.

“I know that I'm probably talking to a lot of girls and women out there who have felt every single thing that we have talked about today, and a lot of important messages.

“But I think the main one that has come out is that you can be anything, you can achieve anything.”