Clyne is a crucial member of the Wagga Blaze women’s basketball side, which has made the finals of the state league competition in Sydney this weekend. 

After many long hours of travel, matches and training, Clyne is ready to help take her team to the grand final. 

Wagga Blaze are part of the division one Waratah League and have been one of top sides to beat this season. 

Their first match of the weekend is an elimination game against Maitland, a side they have previously beaten twice this year. 

Should they take out that match, Coffs Harbour will be waiting for them in the grand final. 

“We haven’t actually beaten them this year … first time we played them they only beat us by eight points, but the next time was a blow out,” she said. 

Wagga is the closest state league team to Leeton and Clyne’s father Josh is also the assistant coach of the side. 

“We’ve got two American imports in our team, which has been really great,” she said. 

“The rest of the team is mostly from Wagga except for myself and Jess (Somerfield) from Narrandera.

“I played (in 2017) as well, so we’re looking to redeem ourselves after last year. We didn’t even make the finals.”

The side is expecting to take a full team to Sydney where the championship league will also be playing, allowing for a good atmosphere throughout. 

Clyne, who typically plays small forward and power forward, is keen to get a grand final victory. 

“Wagga has only won it once before, so it would be pretty exciting to be part of that,” she said. 

Clyne’s training involves a trip to Wagga each week, but lately she has been putting in around three to four sessions of her own in Leeton to prepare for the finals. 

“It’s been good having dad there to push me on and Jess goes to school here, so we’ve been able to train together,” she said. 

Basketball has been a passion for Clyne from an early age and she hopes to continue playing at a high level. 

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