MILWAUKEE (AP) — Portage native Lisa Byington is making history as the Milwaukee Bucks’ new play-by-play television broadcaster.

The Bucks announced the hiring Wednesday and said Byington is the first woman to work as a full-time television play-by-play announcer for any major men’s professional sports team.

“I don’t chase history,” Byington told News 8 in a Zoom interview Thursday. “Sometimes history finds you.”

“Every time I put on that headset, I’m not putting on the headset as a female broadcaster, I’m putting on the headset as a broadcaster,” she continued. “And so every time I do that, I try to do the best job that I can and not think about being gender-specific and what it sounds like to be a woman on a game or what it sounds like if a man was doing the game — I just do the game.”

Byington replaces Jim Paschke. Paschke retired after 35 seasons as the team’s main television play-by-play broadcaster.

Byington became the first female play-by-play broadcaster for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament earlier this year.