On her return to the sport, Wagga’s captain Jordan Barrett top-scored in both games, scoring 20 points against Tamworth and 17 against Hawkesbury.

“She hasn’t played basketball in five years,” Blaze coach Peter O’Leary said.

“She led by example.”

All five players played a vital role in defence.

“I’m really pleased with our defensive effort,” O’Leary said.

“We played a full-court press, led by our guards rather than our bigs, everyone worked really hard.”

Wagga Blaze had a slow start against Tamworth, and a strategic change at half-time allowed them to flourish in a big win.

“We held our own, we were running man to man, then after half time, went into a trapping press, that turned the tables around,” O’Leary said.

“Hannah Martin led the charge up in the pointy end, she was very aggressive and used her fouls wisely.”

Martin fouled out with a minute to go.

Wagga sits in fourth on the competition ladder, with two wins from three games.

At the sporting complex in Minto, the Wagga team had the luxury of viewing rival teams in action.

“What we were more pleased about than anything was the fact we got an opportunity to see all of the teams in the competition,” O’Leary said. 

“The competition looks pretty-well open, very, very close when it comes to the top four.”

O’Leary rates Wagga as a top-four team, along with Shoalhaven, Bathurst, and Coffs Harbour.

“At the start of the season the big thing hanging over our heads was, being a young group, being all local players, were we going to be competitive or not?” he said.

“We pretty much confirmed we will be competitive against any team, able to win against any team on our day. It was a big morale-booster, not that they needed it, they have confidence in themselves.”

Wagga travelled with nine players, and had stocks to draw on if they were short.

Depth will keep Wagga’s strong campaign alive according to O’Leary.

“The one good thing about our current program is, we have plenty of girls who want to play,” he said.

"We’ve only been calling on our core group and on top of that there are six development players knocking on the door.”

Next, Wagga faces St George Saints, yet to secure a win from four games.

Wagga players must wait three weeks until their next game at home on May 13.