After a late rally to down Maitland 65-61 on Saturday, the Blaze needed another gritty performance to win the title.

Going into the grand final as underdogs against Coffs Harbour, a team they hadn’t beaten all season, the Wagga side trailed for most of the game before a final-quarter surge saw them run out 86-76 winners.

Coach Peter O’Leary was thrilled with the team’s performance over a tough final weekend.

“We did it the hard way,” O’Leary said.

“In the Maitland game we only came good in probably the last five or six minutes, it was head-to-head all the way through but we got on top of them and were able to hold the lead and then (Sunday) it was a similar situation.

“We were the underdog in that game, the other team had three of the all star five in their side, including the MVP, but we managed to grind it out for a good, hard win.

“It was really good.”

Down by five points at half-time, and again at three-quarter time, O’Leary thought their toughness showed through.

Shakera Barnes led the way.

The US import shone of the big stage, scoring a massive 39 points on her way to being crowned the most valuable player in the grand final.

Steph Male was also strong for the side, contributing 19 points, with Khiani Clark (14) and Maddy Clyne (11) also raced double digits.

Abbey Morton (3) was the team’s only other scorer in the grand final.

Barnes backed up her game-high 19 points to down the Mustangs on Saturday and has made a massive impact for the club this season.

The Blaze have spent plenty of time on the road this season, but O’Leary thought the got their just desserts in the end.

There is talk of another competition restructure next season, which should help some of the travel burden, and O’Leary is hopeful most of the team will stay together.

However whether Barnes and Clark return for a second season is uncertain and Clyne and Jess Sommerfield are expected to move on in order attend university.