Liz Mills (right) is making history in the BAL, but the journey hasn’t been easy.

Liz Mills enters the court in her signature high black boots and sits in the designated coach’s seat when a woman from the Cameroon Federation slowly walks up to her.

“You can’t sit here. This is the head coach’s seat,” the lady says, pointing at one of the male assistant coaches.

Instead of growing frustrated, Mills used the incident as a teaching moment. She calmly explained to the woman that she was in fact the coach.

Mills is no stranger to these types of interactions. As a woman coaching men, she has dealt with adversity throughout her career. After watching Mills’ team qualify for BAL Playoff in Kigali Rwanda, the woman from Cameroon was amongst her biggest supporters in the crowd. She was cheering non-stop for the coach and her team.

Even after making history as the first woman coach in the BAL, the Australian native still faces many obstacles. But she does not let them faze her.

“I just continue doing my job,” Mills said. “Hopefully with my performance and the success of the team, I can change people’s mindset.”

Mills has spent more than two decades coaching and has led teams in multiple countries and continents.

Mills’ coaching journey began in 2002 at the age of 16. The success of Australian players like Penny Taylor, Lauren Jackson and former WNBA coach Carrie Graf’s inspired her to transition from playing to coaching.

Mills started small, coaching junior clubs and national teams before moving on to senior teams. In 2011, she took over for Zambian club Heroes Play United after seeing them practicing locally and simply asking the club president if she could lead a practice session.

That session turned into a head coaching position, where she led them to a championship.

Three years later, she finished her Masters of Education in Sports Coaching at the University of Sydney. She was hired by the Matero Magic for the 2015-16 season and gained another championship under her belt. Mills’ next stop was with the Zambian national team as an assistant coach.

But, Mills and Zambia failed to qualify for AfroBasket, the biggest professional tournament in Africa, in 2017. She went back to her home country, looked herself in the mirror and realized she needed to adapt. 

“I wouldn’t be where I am today, and that’s why I say to so many coaches, be brave enough to fail. Because that is when you’re going to learn and get better,” Mills said proudly.

Despite having head coaching experience, Mills was forced to step back into an assistant role. After being a consultant to men’s national teams for about a year, Mills wanted another shot as a head coach.

Finally, she received the opportunity when she was hired by the Kenyan men’s national team to lead them in FIBA 2021 AfroBasket.

Heading into the qualifiers, Kenya was ranked No. 118 in the world. They needed to defeat Angola, the mighty 13-time Afro champions, to advance to the group stage.

The Kenyans fought and found themselves down by one with 10 seconds left. Kenyan forward Taylor Ongwae sized up his defender before throwing up a pump fake behind the 3-point line. As the defender rose, Ongwae avoided their outstretched hand and fired up a last-second shot.

Everyone on the court was stunned when the ball rolled around the rim for what felt like minutes before eventually falling through the bottom of the net. For the first time in 28 years, the Kenyans would be in the group stage of the tournament.

Mills looked around in shock before embracing her assistant coach. She went around the court grinning ear to ear, high-fiving and sharing the moment with every one of her players.

“No one was really expecting us to do anything,” Mills recalled. “But if you spoke to any of the people on our team, it was intense self-belief that we could achieve anything, and I think that’s creating a culture where anything is possible.”

Mills became the first woman to lead a men’s national team to a major continental tournament. In 2022, she continued to break barriers when she was hired to lead AS Sale of the BAL.

She made history as the first woman coach of the league and the first woman to lead a men’s club team in Morocco.

However, Mills still felt alone as the only woman coach in Africa. With help from her twin sister, Vic, the duo started the Global Women in Basketball Coaching Network.

This group connects women coaches from all over the globe. It includes coaches from the NBA and G League, and hosts Zoom sessions where coaches have a safe space to talk about their frustrations, coaching strategies or anything else on their minds.

“The aim of the network, which is co-founded with my sister Vic, is to inspire, elevate and empower the women coaches all around the world,” Mills said.

Being a part of the network has allowed Mills to expand her coaching style. She describes herself as a player’s coach, always looking to gain the trust of her players.

“She always tries to listen and to adjust based on the player, so she always has that communication, so players know what’s going on. I love her coaching style.” said ABC Fighters’ leading scorer Amadou Abdoulaye Harouna, who followed her from AS Sale because of her coaching style and is now in his second season working with Mills.

The ABC Fighters finished Sahara Conference play with a 3-2 record, including another signature win for Mills.

After starting 1-1, the Fighters had defending champions US Monastir on their schedule. Monastir was also on a five-game winning streak dating back to last season. However, an aggressive defensive effort that forced 23 turnovers and 33 points from Harouna led the Fighters to a 16-point win.

Following an emphatic jam from Harouna that sealed the win, Mills leapt out of her seat, clenched her fists and bellowed a loud victory cry. She’s not afraid to show her emotion on the court or try to hide it from her players.

“I think just getting up and letting them know that I was proud of them, and that I was happy with our performance,” said Mills of her reaction. “It also is good motivation for them to see me that hyped.”

Harouna, with a strong drive, slams a mean dunk to cap off a stellar 33-points performance. @ABC_Fighters #theBAL pic.twitter.com/5w9iOPdMxh

— Basketball Africa League (@theBAL) March 17, 2023

The Fighters continued their streak by defeating the Kwara Falcons. However, they ended their season on a low note with a 19-point loss to Stade Malien. 

But the Fighters know that they belong in the playoffs. 

“We see what we look like playing our best, but at the same time, we see what we look like when we’re not good. So we just gotta be consistent,” said Harouna of the team’s performance.

The BAL playoffs start May 22 and Mills and the ABC Fighters have been training and fine-tuning their game. The team awaits the wrap-up of the Nile Conference to figure out their opponent.

Mills is confident in her team making a playoff run to the finals, but has a goal that’s bigger than basketball. She wants to become the first woman to win a championship for a men’s team.

“Yes, I want to win for ABC (Fighters),” Mills said. “But, the other part of me is like, yes, I want to win for women and to prove that we can be successful in whatever possible environment we choose to work in.”