Two kids, two titles and now 300 games for Ernst

Southside Melbourne Flyers’ Carley Ernst will etch her name into the WNBL record books on Saturday when she steps onto Microkeeper Arena to take on Geelong.

Not only will the 32-year-old make her 2026-27 season debut, but she will become just the 24th player in League history to chalk up 300 games.

She will join the likes of Kelly Wilson (479 games), Cayla George (397) and Jessica Bibby (393) on the illustrious list.

“What an honour it is to be on the list of some of those names,” Ernst said.

“There are so many great Australian basketball players, and I’m honestly speechless to be among them.

“It’s really cool and special to be able to achieve this, especially after having the kids.”

Born in Melbourne, Ernst (née Mijović) played her junior hoops for Dandenong before gaining a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport, which led to her helping her country win bronze at the 2013 FIBA Under 19s World Cup in Lithuania.

It was there she first experienced the WNBL, debuting for the AIS in 2009.

That was the first of two seasons she played for the Pumas (including winning Rookie of the Year in 2012), before signing with the Dandenong Rangers for the 2012-13 season.

A one-year stint with Canberra followed before Ernst was selected with the 30th pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft by Washington.

After her stop in the Nation’s Capital, Ernst played in Adelaide, Perth (two seasons) and Dandenong (two seasons) in the WNBL.

She then played in Romania with ACS Sepsi SIC ensued before returning to the League with Bendigo for two seasons.

Then in 2021-22, Ernst suited up for the Boomers after the birth of her first child and won her first WNBL championship.

Since that 2021 campaign, Ernst has been with the Flyers, where she claimed a second title in 2024.

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The WNBL25 Season was Ernst’s last, as she missed last year due to the birth of her second child and a back injury, which has delayed her milestone match to Round 2.

“I’ve been stuck on 299 for a while, after not playing last year,” she added.

“There were times I wondered if I’d ever get there after this second child.

“While it’s been hard, we got there, and it’s really special, especially with the fact the kids will be on the sidelines for the game.

“Growing up, I would have been happy to just be playing, because I always wanted to be a mum, and didn’t know how that would exactly work.

“It’s amazing to have the policies in place that we do, that we can do what we love [play basketball], but also have babies.

“It’s really exciting for women’s basketball that we can do that, and to have so many mums around the League doing such amazing things is so exciting.

“Honestly, looking back, I still feel quite young, but this will be my 16th season in the League, which is crazy.”

The fixture itself will pit the 1-1 Flyers against the 0-1 Venom, who will have Chinese superstar Han Xu make her debut on Saturday.

Ernst knows how important it will be to slow her and one of her former teammates down, if the Flyers are to win the Round 2 fixture.

“Firstly, we need to lock up Maddy Rocci, as she’s the point guard and we know how dangerous she can be,” Ernst said.

“Then with Han, it’s going to be a big job. We’ve got to do the work [on her] early because if she gets down to the ring, it’s pretty hard to stop her.

“It’s gonna be a challenge for us all and we’re going to have different ways to try and stop her and the team.

“It’s an exciting challenge and I can’t wait to get back out there.”

Saturday’s fixture tips off at 3pm AEDT, live on 9Now and ESPN via Disney+.