Almost a third of the way through the 2017-18 WNBL season, the Spirit are in last place on the ladder with a 1-5 record.

But one bright spot this season has been the play of young forward Ebony Rolph.

The 23-year-old – now in her third season with the Spirit – has been a steady presence off the bench.

Her contribution at both ends of the court in last Friday night’s 13-point loss to Adelaide earned her a WNBL career-high 16.50 minutes of court time and coach Simon Pritchard’s nomination as the Spirit’s game MVP.

Rolph clearly relished the opportunity to play both extended minutes against the Lightning after the Spirit found themselves down early in the contest.

“I always come in with a mindset to work my butt off, I am not going to get that opportunity every game,” she said.

“It’s not going to be extended minutes, I know that, so I go in there and try my hardest and do the best I can to help lift the other girls as well.

“Starting in a team can be tough and you get worn out (early).

“All I want to be is that kind of spark coming off the bench and lifting the other girls.”

Rolph, who is originally from Portland, has looked destined for an improved WNBL season since a breakout SEABL campaign with the national champion Geelong Lady Supercats.

She notched career highs in points (11) and rebounds (7.3) and was one of the Supercats most influential players in their national grand final win over Bendigo Lady Braves with 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

With a next-up assignment against Melbourne Boomers and their gun centre Liz Cambage, Rolph was confident the Spirit could right the ship following a trio of consecutive losses.

“I think we can get Melbourne, I’m not saying that we can’t,” she said.

“If all of us are on the same page and we play attacking and aggressive and our defence lifts, no one will be able to stop us.

“When we are on a roll – we showed  it against Perth -  Perth couldn’t stop us.

“I think we can get Melbourne.”

The Boomers (4-3) will also be looking to rebound after losses on the weekend to Sydney and Townsville dropped them to fourth place.