The 15-year-old, along with her mum Cindy Bunyan, flew out to the United States on December 18 with a select group of junior basketballers as part of the North East Bushrangers Basketball USA Hoops Tour.
The North East Bushrangers — which includes players from an area extending from Echuca, across to Albury and down to Seymour — will be fielding one team of 10 girls, one team of 10 boys and one team of 11 boys in what will be a frantically busy 18 days.
The young Aussies will play 10 games of basketball in Ohio and New York, including the Thomas Worthington Tournament in Columbus.
Dad Jared, who will spend some time at the family’s properties at Pine Lodge, Cosgrove and Euroa, where they run Dorper sheep and Angus cattle, said he was super proud of his daughter.
“It’ll be a great experience for her, playing against colleges across the US, and then there’s also the potential for scouts to be watching the games,” he said.
In between playing, the tour group will go to two NBA games — Cleveland Cavaliers v Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks v Phoenix Suns — as well as one college game and a National Football League and National Hockey League game.
Cindy and Montanna will head along to watch the LA Lakers v Atlanta Hawks before they head home.
Jared said sponsorship from Elders Shepparton, the Goulburn Valley Stock Agents Association and the family’s business Bargunyah Pastoral Co helped make Montanna’s trip possible.
The family is a long-time client of Elders Shepparton and Cindy, who will be helping with the logistics of moving the young people across the US, is secretary of the GVSAA.
“It’s greatly appreciated that they were more than happy to be sponsors,” Jared said.
Jared said he expected it would be a quiet Christmas but his son Blaine, who works with Caterpillar in a fly-in fly-out role, would be around for a few days.
“We’ll get by,” he said.
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