Tessa’s time to shine

IT'S Tessa Lavey's time to shine.

Lavey is excited about her upcoming season with WNBL side Perth Lynx as she strives to cement a spot in the Opals team for next year's Rio Olympics.

The new Lynx point guard has made the switch from the successful Bendigo side in a bid for more court time, with Opals coach Brendan Joyce a big player in her success so far after nurturing her in the national squad for last year's World Championships.

The new WNBL season starts in October, with the former Swan Hill junior excited to work with new teammates and head coach Andy Stewart at a two-day camp in Melbourne this week.

She is preparing to move to Perth when the South East Australian Basketball League season finishes next month.

"Andy has been around the WNBL a few years so he sort of knows my game and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to play under him," she said.

The 22-year-old said she was excited to be embarking on a WNBL season after a long apprenticeship under Bendigo point guard Kristi Harrower.

"Training with Kristi day in and day out, I learned that you can never overthink the game," Lavey said.

"You have to play every single possession like it's win or lose. I'm grateful for what I learned from her and looking forward to playing now."

For more on this story see Wednesday's edition of The Guardian (August 26, 2015).