The season has already been one to remember for Jocie Leavold but the St Albans teenager is determined to continue her upward trajectory as the Women’s British Basketball League season heads into the new year.
The 16-year-old Beaumont School pupil has been getting plenty of game time for Oaklands Wolves in the WBBL, the highest league in the country.
And she says the experience of playing against some of the star names that the league attracts can only be helpful for her in the long run.
She said: "For me this season is all about gaining as much experience as possible and I'm learning bucketloads from these girls
"We have a lot of international players and we have to work out where we all fit when we come together.
"We will get there but I'm loving every minute of it.
"To get the experience at such a young age is just, I can't put it into words.
"This is the top basketball league for women in this country."
And the skills Leavold is learning could help her towards fulfilling the next stage of her basketball story.
"I'd like to go to the States and then come back to Oaklands and play pro," she revealed.
"And I'm on the right track, especially with Lee [Ryan, Wolves head coach]. He's one of the best technical coaches in the country."
A new-look and very young Wolves side had a mixed time of it before the Christmas break, winning two of their six games in the league to lie in eighth and the final play-off place.
But they opened 2020 in fine form with a 78-70 win at home to Essex Rebels, who began the year one place below the Oaklands College-based side.
They couldn't continue that form on Sunday, losing 89-69 to high-flying Sevenoaks Suns, but Leavold played her part in both games, scoring eight points against the Rebels and adding another three in the second match-up of the weekend.
Anneke Schlueter led the way in both games with a combined total of 32.
Wolves had to survive a fourth quarter fightback in Saturday's match but they were always trailing on Sunday despite holding the Suns in quarter two.
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