Cootamundra Cougars junior Amelia Hassett has made a strong start to the Australian under-16 championships in Darwin, helping NSW Country to two wins from three matches.
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The centre scored a game high 19 points and 15 rebounds in Monday's 69-45 belting of ACT.
Hassett also bagged nine points and eight boards in Sunday's 74-60 win over SA Country, and 13 points in a 69-62 loss to WA Metro.
NSW Country has two games remaining in the championships against opposition with very different form lines.
They were due to take on the unbeaten Victoria Metro on Tuesday evening at 7pm with their final match against the winless Northern Territory on Wednesday at 5pm.
The countless kilometres racked up from one training session to the next has paid off for Hassett who plays senior basketball with the Wagga Blaze.
Hassett, 15, comes off the bench for the Blaze in the Waratah League.
Incredibly the Adelong-based centre, who already measures around six foot, is one of three Tumut school kids to make state teams, with Grace Whyte and Haiden Ings also chosen.
While Hassett is enjoying so much success on the representative scene her senior coach, Wagga Blaze's Peter O'Leary reckons local junior talent are "a victim of their geography" and could achieve so much more.
"We've had a few (make state teams) but you could probably count them on one hand over the years," O'Leary said.
"The last one was probably Prue Walsh a few years ago in under-18s, I keep telling everybody her mum burnt out three new cars to get her to training.
"Every time a state team has a training session it's in Newcastle, Maitland or the Central Coast.
"Until we get really good facilities down here, and we're starting to get that now at Equex (Centre), we're stuck on the other side of the coin.
"We get three to five really good kids, but we have to take them to where it's at," O'Leary said.
Hassett is in her second year with defending division one champions the Blaze.
"She plays with us because she wants to play in harder competition and develop her game," O'Leary said.
"She holds her own in our team as well, she can come in and be a game turner when she wants to be.
O'Leary said kids from the smaller centres surrounding Wagga Wagga or even Wagga for that matter, don't have the competition there compared to the kids coming through in the city or major regional centres.
Ahead of this week's national titles Hassett said playing against older and stronger players with the Blaze has improved her game.
"It's good to play against people who have played more basketball and learn from that," Hassett said.
"I'm pretty excited (about nationals), it's going to be a challenge."
O'Leary said her height and passion for the game give her a headstart on opponents.
"She's working on being a post player and being big inside, but I try and keep her grounded with her ball skills," he said.
"Dribbling and passing and playing on the perimeter because who knows, her growth may plateau.
"At 18 or 19 she may not be the tallest kid anymore."
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