Jacinta Anne Kennedy (née Hamilton; born 3 May 1982) is an Australian women's
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
player, who represented the country at both junior and senior levels.
[FIBA Archive. 2001 World Championship for Junior Women]
Jancinta Hamilton
Retrieved 2015-01-31. She most recently played for the
Dandenong Rangers
The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship pur ...
in the WNBL.
Personal life
Kennedy picked up the nickname "Little Awesome" from Melbourne's basketball writers in 1998 and is the younger sister of
Lucille Hamilton.
[Howell, Stephen (5 December 2005)]
''Little awesome Jacinta''
The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2015-01-31. Kennedy is married to
Socceroo player
Josh Kennedy.
Career
Kennedy commenced playing in the
Women's National Basketball League
The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...
(WNBL) in 1999. Since then, Kennedy has played for the
AIS (1999/00 to 2000/01),
Canberra Capitals
The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberr ...
(2001/02) and
Dandenong Rangers
The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship pur ...
(2003/04 to 2005/06), totalling 125 games.
Kennedy was also selected to the
WNBL All-Star Five
The All-WNBL Team is an annual Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) honour bestowed on the best performing players in the league following every WNBL season. From 1988 to 2018–19, the honour was known as the All-Star Five. As of 2020, it is ...
on two occasions; 2003/04 and 2005/06. In season 2004/05, Kennedy was awarded the
Grand Final Most Valuable Player.
[ After nine years away from the game, she returned to the game in the Rangers uniform, now playing under her marital name, Jacinta Kennedy. After the 2016/17 season, Kennedy retired from her prolonged and impressive career.
At official ]FIBA
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...
events, Kennedy played for Australia at the 2001 World Championship for Junior Women. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...
held in Melbourne, Kennedy won a Gold medal
A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture.
Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...
.[Howell, Stephen (24 March 2006)]
''Opals ride tough defence to victory''
The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2015-01-31.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Jacinta
1982 births
Living people
Australian women's basketball players
Australian Institute of Sport basketball (WNBL) players
Canberra Capitals players
Dandenong Rangers players
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
Commonwealth Games gold medallists in basketball
Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Forwards (basketball)
Centers (basketball)
Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Basketball players from Melbourne
Sportswomen from Victoria (state)
21st-century Australian sportswomen