(CNN) Men have been shooting hoops in the NBA, the nation's premier professional basketball league, for a while. Since 1946, to be exact.

But in that time, the league has only had a handful of female referees.

On Tuesday, the NBA announced that it was promoting Jenna Schroeder to its full-time officiating staff, making her the sixth woman to referee full-time for the league.

Schroeder's track record includes three seasons officiating in the G League, the NBA's official minor league, and two seasons in the WNBA, the NBA said in a statement . She also spent seven years refereeing college games, working in the ACC, Big East, Atlantic 10 and American conferences, the league said.

"Jenna has shown the requisite skill on the court and the knowledge of our rules to earn an opportunity to officiate NBA regular-season games," Monty McCutchen, the NBA's vice president of referee development and training, said in a news release. "She is the latest example of the NBA G League's impact as a valuable pipeline for our NBA officiating staff."

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