Instead of sending out a highlights reel and resume to catch their attention, she simply ran the boards and racked up the points for junior state teams and the recruiters came courting her.

After regularly representing Victoria Country and twice captaining the squad in her mid-teens, Caitlin was approached by 10 American schools keen to secure her signature.

“I had to pick where to go,” said the power forward who grew up in the tiny NSW region of Curlwaa, near Mildura, and moved to Bendigo for her final two years of high school.

“It was pretty overwhelming as a 14 or 15-year-old to be getting all these offer letters and not knowing what to do.

“The decision really came down to school size - coming from a small community, I wanted to choose a school that wasn’t too big, where I’d feel comfortable and enjoy my freshman year.”

The clincher came out of the blue, when Caitlin attended a two-day elite training camp last year and was noticed by visiting Minot State University coach Sheila Green Gerding.

“Sheila had signed other Australian girls and liked the way Australians play,” the 18-year-old said, adding the college was not even among her long list of original suitors.

“She came out here to look at a few people and I don’t think she knew who I was before the camp. But she emailed me the next day, saying they wanted to offer me a full (scholarship).

“Mum sent a message while I was on my lunch break at school and I couldn’t believe this school in the US was offering a full ride after watching me play just two days of basketball.”

Caitlin recently jetted off to her new life on campus in Minot, North Dakota, a town of about 43,000 people that is also home to a military base.

“I saw it on Google images and it looked pretty cool,” she laughed, admitting she knew little about the region or what lay ahead, apart from “a lot of pre-season work”.

Caitlin will study physiotherapy and play for the Lady Beavers in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, travelling to states including Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. 

Coach Gerding believes her 185cm recruit has the potential to play in Europe, and the senior graduate she replaces on the roster is now trying out for a professional team in France. 

“She averaged about 30 points a game so they are big shoes to fill, but not in my first year,” Caitlin said. “Most freshmen don’t get a lot of court time so it will be about learning the game, going hard at training and developing to the point where I can get big minutes.”

There’s also a trip to Hawaii for a college basketball tournament scheduled in November.

It is a far cry from Caitlin’s first foray into the sport at 11, with the Demons in Mildura.

“When I started playing, it was because I was in this small town and mum wanted me to meet more people and make new friends,” she recalled.

“It was never about me being good at basketball - in fact, I was extremely bad. I didn’t touch the ball in my first game and just ran up and down the court because I had no idea.”

She soon got the hang of it, though, and was chosen to play for Mildura’s junior representative teams and, later, Victoria Country.

A talented pony club rider as well, Caitlin chose hoops over hooves in 2008 when it became too costly and time consuming to pursue both sports at the high level she had reached.

And when it became too hard balancing nine hours of travel every weekend from Mildura for basketball commitments with her school work, the family decision was made to move to Bendigo and complete her VCE at Bendigo Senior Secondary College.

This opened up an amazing array of opportunities.

Caitlin joined the Junior Braves program and went on to play for the Young Lady Braves in Basketball Victoria’s D-League competition (now known as the under-23 Youth League).

The Young Lady Braves finished third overall this year, with Caitlin leading the competition for defensive rebounds and the league’s fifth-highest scorer.

She played with the SEABL Lady Braves last year and spent two seasons training with WNBL champions the Bendigo Spirit.

“That was an incredible opportunity - I was just 16 when I first walked into training and I was starstruck by the likes of Kristi Harrower, Gabe Richards, Kelsey Griffin and Chelsea Aubry.

“I think I just stood in the corner and went, ‘wow, what am I doing here, it’s insane’. The atmosphere at training is amazing and they are such a great group of girls and always willing to help someone so young like myself.

“If I can learn to be anywhere near as good as Kelsey Griffin or Sara Blicavs, it would be happy days because they are just outstanding players.”

Caitlin has spoken to several Bendigo-based basketball identities with experience of the US college system - including Harrower and Spirit team-mate Jane Chalmers - about her future.

Former UK representative Megan Moody, who lives locally, was another source of advice to help guide her through the options piling up in front of her.

But her biggest support throughout her career has come from parents Jock and Joanne.

“She was always very determined,” said Mrs McLachlan, detailing how her daughter captained Victoria Country as a top-age under-16 and under-18 player, twice winning silver medals at Australian championships and claiming three gold at national country carnivals.

 “She always knew what she wanted and she went for it.”  

Australians are not novelties at Minot State - the Lady Beavers basketball team includes NSW pair Christina Boag and Olivia Sheehan. Boag’s twin Carly was in the team last season, earning All-American honours and was the conference player of the year.

To help her settle in to her new home town, Caitlin has been “adopted” by the Magnusons, a local family who work at her school, will attend her games and act like her second family.

She was undaunted at the prospect of moving out of home and living half a world away from all that is familiar.

“I’m an only child anyway,” she laughs, “so I’m already quite an independent person. 

“But I’ll be relying on the internet and apps like Skype to stay in touch. 

“It will be weird not seeing my parents every day, but they have done a really great job getting me to the point where I can manage well on my own.”