At first the move from Texas to central Victoria was a shock for WNBL Bendigo Spirit’s Barbara Turner.
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However, after four games with her new team, she is more comfortable than ever.
“I’m adjusting to how the team plays and the other players are adjusting to how I play," Turner said.
Turner has made her presence on the court known through strong offensive plays and scoring in double figures during games.
“We are starting to build chemistry and playing well on the court,” Turner said.
“We are going to be good moving forward as long as we continue on the same path and stay focused.”
The US import has now played four games with the Spirit, scoring 25 points in total.
The move from the United States to Bendigo didn’t come without its challenges for the Cleveland-born Turner.
“At first it was a shock with the time difference, it was a rough adjustment for the first 10 days,” she laughed.
Highlights so far are enjoying everyday life in Bendigo, which she described as a “very pretty city”.
However, there has been one element of everyday Australian life which came as quite the surprise to Turner.
Teammates Kara Tessari and Cassidy McLean treated Turner and fellow US import Becca Tobin to a taste of the finest delights of Australian gastronomy: Vegemite, Tim Tams, Twisties, lamingtons and Weet-Bix were among the items.
“Everything was okay except the Vegemite,” Turner laughed.
“I need to stay away from it. It wasn’t nice to me at all.”
Bendigo Spirit head coach Simon Pritchard said Turner had instigated integral plays while on-court.
“She knocked in a couple shots from the car park on the weekend...we are really happy with how she is going,” Pritchard said.
Pritchard said Turner had been working directly with younger players to help develop their on-court performance.
The goal is to utilise her experience playing leagues in college, Europe, WNBA and competing nationally for the US.
Turner is ready to take to the court this weekend to play the Sydney Uni Flames for the first time this season.
“The focus is continuing the way we have been playing defence,” Turner said
“We won the past two games because we came together as a group which strengthened our overall defence.”
Bendigo Spirit (4-2) will play Sydney Uni Flames (0-6) on its home court this Sunday at the Bendigo Stadium, tip-off at 2pm.
