Facing adversity is something the under 16, Moss Vale Magic division two girls team have become accustomed too.
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Being beaten by teams, learning from the defeat and returning when the moment truly matters is exactly what this squad has done, as they have finished champions of the NSW Country League.
Head coach of the squad Eric Hackett said it was no easy feat for the girls and they over came a lot to get where they are.
"We played really well in our first game against Newcastle," Hackett said.
"They're usually a strong team and we had a really great game against them. Our second game we played Batemens Bay (BB) which we'd also met in our Southern Junior League grand final.
"The girls were quite rattled in that game and we went down by five points. We played Bathurst last in our pool games and the girls were still nervous from the game before and didn't play their best."
The girls wanted it more and that's what the grand final came down to.
- Eric Hackett
Having their nerves rattled, some teams may have let the moment get the better of them. But this Magic team had other ideas.
"When finals began, the girls played absolutely incredible and blew out Illawarra by 20 in the quarter finals," Hackett said.
Going down to Batemens Bay in the pool game had the Magic girls rocked, but a sneak peak of BB being defeated by Tamworth gave the girls confidence.
"We watched BB and Tamworth on the other court in their semi finals," Hackett said.
"We hadn't played Tamworth before, but watching them gave the girls confidence heading into the grand final. Watching BB get beat the girls thought, 'we have a shot at this'."
The Moss Vale Magic defeated Tamworth in a thrilling 40-36 victory. The final minute couldn't end quick enough for coach Hackett.
"Nerves definitely started to kick in, but in those situations you have to remain calm," He said.
"When you as a coach begin to feel nervous, the players can feed off of that. The team will always feed off your emotions.
"The game was 36 all in the last minute and it came down to free throws. We then got an offensive rebound and we held it till the final seconds and hit a three at the buzzer.
"The girls wanted it more and that's what the grand final came down to."
Moss Vale still have one more tournament this year and are looking for a clean sweep of victory.
"We have state cup next in August," Hackett said.
"Hopefully we can cap off our season with three wins in three tournaments."
