Carey, whose first season as coach of the Lady Braves came to an end in Saturday night’s playoff in Brisbane, said the team’s performance had put the club in good stead for success in next year’s SEABL action.

“We think we have put some good things in place for years to come,” Carey said.

“We’ve learnt a lot from each other this season. I’ve learnt a lot about the girls and I think they’ve learnt a lot from me and the other coaching staff this year.

“The way they played showed character and they will be back to claim that elusive championship next season.”

The Lady Braves fate was sealed in double overtime on Saturday night, when the Brisbane Lady Spartans scored afour-point win to progress to the next round of the women’s finals series.

Although the Lady Braves’ loss was disappointing, Carey said his team’s performance both on and off the court was something all players should be proud of.

“The way the girls held themselves after the game was fantastic. It was a gut-breaking game, but the girls handled it really well and played a great game.

“It was so tough, but we played a really solid game.

“We just had a couple of minor indiscretions whether it be missing a free throw or not locking down rebounds, but overall it was a fantastic effort.”

Carey added that one of the most exciting elements of the Lady Braves’ success was the up-and-coming young players who made their mark this season.

“We are really pleased because we think we’ve unearthed some good young players,” he said.

“Kerryn Harrington has been so impressive. Her ability to lead for someone so young is just great.

“Sarah Strange is another young player who had an outstanding season.

“Those young players combined with the leadership from long-time players Kelly Wilson, Lauren King and Gabe Richards has been fantastic this season.”

With many of the Lady Braves likely to star in the WNBL this season, Carey said he and his coaching staff will be looking to recruit outside of the region for next season.

“It’s going to be hard to say who will be back to play because of the WNBL restrictions in that we can only take three WNBL restricted players,” he said.

“We had two this season with Lauren (King) and Kelly (Wilson), but we had Gabe Richards and Eleanor Haring back from injury, so they could be restricted players this season.

“Restricted players are those who play for more than 20 or more minutes in the WNBL, so we might have to do a fair bit of recruiting, and not limiting our search to certain areas.”