Tessa Lavey is confident the Bendigo Spirit will emerge from a testing period as a better team.
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Some Spirit players and staff members have been struck down by COVID-19 in the past week and the club's past two WNBL matches have been postponed because of escalating cases around the league.
"We've lived in an uncertain time for the past two years, so this is nothing really new,'' Lavey said.
"We're fortunate whenever we get to play and we appreciate the time we do get out on the court in front of the Spirit fans."
Lavey was one of the few Spirit players not to test positive to COVID-19.
She said the Spirit's team chemistry had come to the fore over the past week.
"It's handy that some of the girls live together and they don't have to isolate alone,'' Lavey said.
"Everyone has been good at reaching out and staying in contact over the last few days."
At this stage, the Spirit's next game is scheduled for Friday, January 21 at Bendigo Stadium against the Townsville Fire.
If that game goes ahead, it would be a month between matches for the Spirit.
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After a 1-3 start to the season, the Spirit need to get back to winning form when their season resumes.
"I know it's been a while since we last played, but this break could be a nice little refresher for us,'' Lavey said.
"The girls will be ready to come back and kick some butt. We'll be focused to play really well over the next few months.
"We just need to be consistent. Understanding the game and where the game is at certain points is important.
"Where to control the tempo and where to get shots from is something, as a young group, we need to be better at.
"We can compete with anyone, we just need to be consistent over four quarters."
That consistency can be tricky with a young group and that's why Lavey relishes the chance to be a leader for the club's developing players.
"I always enjoy being able to share things with the younger players,'' she said.
"I was lucky enough to have Kristi (Harrower), Kelly (Wilson), Gabe (Richards) and Kelsey (Griffin) when I was a young player with the Spirit, so I enjoy taking on that mentoring role. I like having the extra responsibility. With Maddie Garrick and Leilani (Mitchell) there as well, we have plenty of experience for the girls to look to or ask questions."
"All the young players are eager to get better and they listen to feedback."
Lavey also has her AFLW career with Richmond to balance alongside her basketball commitments.
Lavey was one of Richmond's best players in the Tigers' round one win over St Kilda last weekend.
"You never know what to expect going into the first round, but I thought the team came together really well,'' she said.
"We'll be looking to take that into our second game.
"I think we'll surprise a lot of teams. We've done some great recruiting, we've added some mature bodies and we've added people that are hungry who've missed out on opportunities elsewhere."
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