However, on Friday night she was afforded the opportunity to do so when she received one of Australian basketball’s top honours.

Bendigo’s Harrower was among five new inductees into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame.

Now aged 42, Harrower is one of Bendigo’s greatest sporting products, carving out an international basketball career for the Opals that included winning three Olympic Games silver medals in 2000, 2004 and 2008 and a bronze in 2012, as well as gold at the 2006 World Championships in Brazil. 

She has played in America, Germany, Russia and France, but among her most cherished memories are the two WNBL championships she won with her hometown Bendigo Spirit in 2013 and 2014 that were coached by her dad, Bernie.

A star point guard, Harrower – known throughout her career as “Shrimpy” – joined Lucille Bailie, Karen Blicavs, Ken Madsen and Carrie Graf in Basketball Australia’s Hall of Fame class of 2017.

However, while always prepared for battle on the court throughout her career, she was caught off guard on stage on Friday night in Melbourne.

“I had to get up and make a speech, whereas I thought they were going to be doing questions and answers, which is what they had done the previous year,” Harrower said on Saturday.

“So I had to make a bit of a joke that with a two-and-a-half-year-old and a four-month old there’s not a lot of time to think about those sort of things any more, so I didn’t really have anything prepared.

“I cried when I was up on stage thanking my dad, but it was just a great night and really special because when you finish playing you don’t really reflect on your career that much when you’re just going about your day-to-day stuff.

“But when you go to an event like last night and there was a video package played of my career, that’s when you really reflect on what you’ve done.

“And when you have people tell you how good a player you were, you sit back and realise I’m glad that I was able to have a lot of influence on players and that I was able to be a role model.”

Harrower – who first represented the Opals at the 1998 World Championships – rates her Hall of Fame induction among the top achievements of her basketball career.

“It’s definitely right up there. When I was younger I set goals to go to the Institute of Sport and play for Australia and be one of the best point guards in Australia, if not the world,” Harrower said.

“But I never dreamed that I’d ever be inducted into a basketball Hall of Fame, so this is up there with playing in the Olympics and my Spirit championships.

“To get put into something like this, you’re in there with so many great people, players and coaches who have done great things for our sport, so it means a lot to me.

“You put a lot of time and effort into your sport and you sacrifice a lot, so this is really special, and I don’t think you realise just how big a deal it is until you go to an event like last night.

“It’s not just another award, it’s really high up and there are a lot of people who don’t get the chance to be inducted into a Hall of Fame, so I’m really proud.”

Harrower played her last game of basketball in January, 2015, after announcing she was pregnant.

She now has two sons, Cooper and Lachlan, with husband Aaron, who she has been married to for 11 years, while also owning two Boost Juice franchises in Bendigo.

“Having my two boys and my businesses, I’m kept really busy that I don’t miss the game as much as I would have,” Harrower said.

“But in saying that, when you see all the great people last night and watching my highlight video, that’s when you miss the game and wish you could be around the game more.

“But because I left having kids so late, right now they are what’s important to me and I want to be a mum and be around them, rather than basketball.”

Among the crowd celebrating Harrower’s Hall of Fame induction at Aerial were her proud parents, Bernie and Janice.

“It’s a fantastic honour for Kristi and great for the family,” Bernie said.

“To see your daughter inducted into a Hall of Fame is something you never dream of.

“To see her set off on her career as a young basketballer in Bendigo to playing on the world stage and becoming one of Australia’s all-time greats, it’s just so humbling and makes you so proud of what she has achieved.

“Last night was the culmination of what has been an amazing career. She has been an outstanding player for her country and every team she has played for over a long period of time.

“She has proved that by looking after her body and putting in the hard work that you can achieve anything, and it just shows the respect she has from the basketball fraternity.

“It’s amazing that I don’t think people in Bendigo realise just how good she has been on the world stage and she almost gets more accolades around the world then she does in her hometown.

“We couldn’t be more proud of what she has achieved.”