PERTH – University of Providence women's basketball standout Parker Esary became the first Argo women's basketball player to play professionally when she signed to play in Australia for the Perth Redbacks last week.  

Esary has already played two games for her new squad in the NBL1, the top professional league in Australia.  Playing just two days after arriving to Australia on May 27, Esary notched a double-double in her first professional outing, recording a team-high 25 points and pulling down 15 boards to propel the Redbacks to a 76-69 victory. She followed that up with a 12-point, nine-rebound game the following day.

"It's been a wild experience so far," Esary said. "Things have moved pretty fast. It's a lot to wrap your head around. I'm just trying to take it day by day right now and make the most of this opportunity."

Esary made the decision to play professional basketball during her dominant senior season with the Argos this past season. Once the team's season ended, Esary signed with an agent with whom she created a "basketball résumé".

Esary's résumé was highly detailed to say the least, as the star post player had a dominant collegiate career with the Argos. She had the distinction of being a five-time NAIA All-American, likely the only one ever in NAIA history. She joined the 2,000 point club on Jan. 29 this past season, and ended up finishing just two points shy of the program's all-time career scoring record with 2,127 points. She topped the Argo record books in the rebounds category, finishing her career with 1,228 boards. She was also the third Argo ever to be named the NAIA National Player of the Week, after scoring a career-high 39 points, including hitting the game-winning free throws with one second left, to lead the Argos past Carroll College to clinch a share of the program's first regular season conference championship since the 1980-81 season.

Once her résumé was in her agent's hands, Esary headed back home to Kalama, Wash. to enjoy her summer. She began working out daily to prepare for a professional season that she thought would begin in the fall, which is when a majority of European professional leagues play. However the timeline was moved up when her agent called her in late May with an offer from the Redbacks. After taking the weekend to deliberate, and a conversation with Argo head coach Bill Himmelberg, Esary called back and accepted the offer.

"I was living the summer life back home when she called me with this opportunity," Esary said. "I wasn't sure at first if I was ready. I talked to Coach Bill and he definitely was a big factor in making the decision to come out here. He helped me realize this was an amazing opportunity. He's the best ever. I love him so much.. I'm super grateful for him and his input."

"They bought me a ticket for four days after I said yes," Esary continued. "That was a crazy period. It was so fast. I had to cancel a lot of summer plans. Nobody really knew except for my family and a couple of close friends."

The Redbacks got a visa for Esary and flew Esary out from her hometown of Kalama, Wash. to Perth. The trip out took approximately 30 hours and included stops in San Francisco and Sydney before arriving in the Australian coastal city on the morning of May 25. That evening she had her first training session with the team, and two days later she was in uniform, starting, in her first professional game.

"I only knew one play," Esary said. "It happened so fast. It was really crazy. One practice and then I was just in it. I went in absolutely blind. I didn't know anyone or anything. I just knew I was going to Perth. I literally knew nothing. I didn't know anybody on the team."

Despite the jet lag and the lack of knowledge of the playbook, Esary came out on fire for the squad. In 31 minutes of action, Esary recorded 25 points on 10-of-22 shooting and pulled down 15 rebounds, both team-highs, leading the team to a 76-69 victory over East Perth. In a follow-up game the next night, Esary played only 17 minutes due to foul trouble, but still managed to record 12 points and nine rebounds.

"I didn't have anything to lose so I went into it ready and wanted to showcase what I had," Esary said. "They had already been playing so I was kind of a surprise to the other teams - they didn't know who I was. It's a physical game out here and good competition. I'm strong. I base a lot of my game off my strength. I played my game and it worked out well."

"A double-double in her professional debut is not surprising at all for me," Himmelberg said. "If you know Parker and what she's able to do, she's going to show up. It was a big debut for her. She wanted to make a splash. She kept herself in shape and was just ready to go. She hops off the plane and makes a big impact immediately. I'm excited for her. It's fun to see all the success that she's having. She's going to have a great season for them."

Though Esary credits the Frontier Conference physicality on preparing her for the professional game, she has noticed a few differences in the professional game.

"The first thing I noticed is that the key is bigger on both sides by like a foot," Esary said. "I'm used to doing a drop-step and being right by the basket, so now I have to be more aware of where I'm at on the court. It's also a fast-paced game out here. There hasn't been a lot of setting up in the half-court on offense, it's more of an up and down game. It's fun."

With the team having a bye week this upcoming weekend, Esary has embraced the time off to get familiar with her new environment. Perth is currently in their winter season (which in contrast to Montana winters, means 70 degree weather), yet Esary has still managed to explore the city and visit the beach with her new teammates.

"Everyone on the team has been amazing since I got here," Esary said. "They are all so nice and welcoming. They were excited to have me which made it easier for me. I felt very welcomed and it made me happy to be here. I've gone out to dinner with the girls and they've been showing me places around. The community has been great, it's a sweet city. I live in a really cool spot so it's been fun."

After battling Covid issues at the beginning of the season, the Redbacks are currently sitting at 10^th place in the 13^th team league. The team is hoping to bounce back to form with a full roster, and Esary's presence in the paint just might be the difference.

"As a team we want to build back to being one of the top teams in the league," Esary said. "Personally, I want to make a statement. I want to make my name known out here. I want to keep filling the role that they need me to fill. I want to keep getting used to this style of play and keep getting better."

Through all the massive changes that her life has taken in the past two weeks, Esary was quick to point out how much her experiences at the University of Providence helped prepare her for this experience.

"I'm definitely grateful for Coach Bill," she said. "I got a lot of accolades at the University of Providence that had a lot to do with how great the program was. Being a part of a program like that helped put my name out there and helped me on my basketball résumé so I'm super grateful for that."

Esary and the Redbacks will next take the floor on June 11 when they take on the Goldsfield Giants. The game will begin at 5:30 p.m. local time (3:30 a.m. MTN). You can watch the game live, for free, at this link.