Mikayla Haupt
Bundaberg’s return to state level basketball with this season’s Queensland State League Division 2 squad has Jasmin Bentley stepping on the court for the Bears.
Playing against strong, quick and experienced women in QSL2, Bentley said this level was a mental game compared to the competitions she played in previously.
Going on a decade in the sport, Bentley said she played netball until one of her friends suggested she try stepping onto the basketball court.
Bentley said she was eight years old when she first started playing basketball and being quite tall at an early age, it wasn’t long before she landed a spot playing in the U12 representative team.
Upon learning new skills and developing her game, her enjoyment for the game grew.
One of the aspects that has kept Bentley in the sport was the people she’s met.
She said from playing basketball she now has friends in Rockhampton, Gladstone and the Gold Coast, the competitiveness stays on the court.
Bentley said you have your home and your school and then basketball has a “whole different atmosphere”.
“You just have people doing the same thing, enjoying the same activities as you… having the same goals – it’s good to bounce off that energy as well,” Bentley said.
Wanting to step up the game a notch, Bentley has been waiting for QSL2 and is hoping this competition would help showcase the talent in Bundy.
Ahead of the season she couldn’t wait for the Bears to “show the other teams what we’re made of”.
Having finished school last year, Bentley’s time is split between working and her passions of basketball and photography.
The Bears will take the court this Saturday 13 May at the Autobarn Arena, 3 Flint St, from 5pm.