Gabe Richards and Kelly Wilson
Ms ALLAN (Bendigo East—Leader of the House, Minister for Transport Infrastructure) (09:42): I am pleased to rise today to honour two champion female athletes from our community who have celebrated some fabulous milestones recently, and I am talking about two Bendigo Spirit superstars, Gabe Richards and Kelly Wilson. On Friday, 24 January, Gabe Richards played her last game for the Bendigo Spirit. She has been on a fantastic journey. She has been with the Bendigo Spirit from the beginning in 2007, and she has also been the public face of the Bendigo Spirit. She has played 250 WNBL games, celebrated two championships and has had a stint as an Australian Opal. I would like to thank Gabe for her service to the team but also to the community, because she has really supported sport and the career of young girls in our community.
I would also like to acknowledge Kelly Wilson, who has now played the most games of any woman in the WNBL, recently marking game number 395 against Perth Lynx in the same game as Gabe. Kelly has also been a long-term Bendigo Spirit player, and she and Gabe are good mates. I want to finish with a quote from Gabe:
As someone who embodied what the Spirit and this community was about and as helping put basketball on the map here and developing a pathway for juniors.
Not just in Braves colours but right through to the WNBL, they can achieve their basketball goals from right here in Bendigo.