Our Bendigo Spirit is in the middle of the 2025 WNBL Grand Final series, and it is fitting we can highlight one of the team’s stars this International Women’s Day. 

Sami Whitcomb has enjoyed an outstanding season for the Spirit, leading the club’s charge for a first championship since 2013/14. 

She’s also an outstanding leader off the court, as shown when she delivered some inspiring words to our Bendigo basketball community at our International Women’s Day Q&A – hosted by Tess Madgen. 

“As a kid, I think you think of success and failure, right?” she told the audience. 

“I think the older I’ve gotten, the more that I can take away so many good things out of something that I would have maybe perceived as a bad. 

“I promise you, that’s where you’re going to find the most valuable lessons, and it’s where you’re going to get the most out of yourself.” 

The theme for IWD 2025 in Australia is March Forward: For ALL Women and Girls. 

The Australian chapter of UN Women said the theme “calls for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all and a feminist future where no one is left behind”.  

“Central to this vision is empowering the next generation – youth, particularly young women and adolescent girls – as catalysts for lasting change,” the organisation said. 

Sami followed an unusual path to elite basketball, being overlooked at a young age in the United States before reaching the top levels of the game after stints in Europe and here in Australia. 

She has gone on to win championships in the WNBL and WBNA, while also representing Australia at the Olympics. 

Her form in her first season here in Bendigo has also earned her the WNBL’s MVP award. 

“I think if you’re willing to put in the time and the sacrifice, there’s nothing that can stop you from doing it – you just have to decide that you want to do it, and it has to be for you,” she said. 

“Do not fall victim to comparison… Your journey is going to be different no matter what, even if two people are exactly the same talent, your paths are going to be different for so many other reasons.” 

“I was a 28-year-old rookie – I never would have picked that. I would never change it, and it prepared me for so many other things along the way.” 

We’ve loved Sami’s impact so far, on and off the court, here in Bendigo. 

She’s an inspiration to her teammates, as well as women and girls across our community.