The former NSW player returns off the back of her best season to date on the hardwood.

“I was really pleased with my performance throughout my junior year,” Bellamy said.

“I worked hard in the pre-season workouts for the first eight weeks, by getting fit, lifting weights and on court workouts as a team paid off.

“In pre-season, we run sprints and timed miles three mornings a week at 6am, and then we go off to university for the day.

“Four afternoons a week, we have on-court practice sessions and some scrimmages and then we lift weights four times a week too.

“Once the NCAA allows official practice, we go to six on-court sessions a week, which roughly last approximately three hours each.

“We also continue to lift weights but it varies from two to four times per week.

“As a team, we reached our conference (MIAA) tournament finals and after losing some experienced seniors in the past couple of years, we have had an influx of freshmen.

“So players are having to adjust to the increased pace and physicality of the game quicker, straight out of high school.”

 The 21-year-old guard, who returns to the US in August to start her senior year, cherishes every moment of her opportunity to play the sport she loves overseas.

“Moving to the US, I didn't have any specific expectations of what college would be like,” she said.

“I am really enjoying it and I am so grateful for the experience and opportunity.

“It can be hard and tiring mixing my studies with basketball training and everything that goes with it, as you really have to be dedicated and willing to work, but it is extremely rewarding to play the sport that I love at the collegiate level.

“I have made lifelong friends with my teammates, because living together and playing with each other six days a week, it forms a very strong bond and they have become my family unit, when my own family is so far away.

“I am so grateful for their friendship and camaraderie and I am also so appreciative to have such a wonderful support unit in my family back home.

“Without their encouragement and support, there is no way I could do this.

“I also do love the packages of Australian goodies that mum sends over.”

Despite playing all levels of competition through the junior ranks, the Cambewarra product acknowledges how far her game has come in just three years.

“Getting used to the increased speed and physicality of the game, especially my freshman year was tough,” she said.

“I was playing women that have been playing collegiate basketball for three years already.

“Also, getting used to practicing so often and balancing that with all my university work was hard at first.

“I think getting used to the weather was a big thing for me after living on the South Coast my whole life, it was a huge adjustment going to class in the snow throughout winter and sometimes not being able to drive on the roads because it’s so icy.

“It is the complete opposite in the spring, right before I return to Australia, as I have to be very cautious of the tornadoes, which are extremely scary.

“Actually the day before I flew home this year, I was at a friend’s house in a nearby town, when I woke up to tornado sirens outside.

“This was awfully scary for me and we had to seek shelter in the basement of church close by.

“Thankfully a tornado didn't eventuate and luckily when I am on campus at Northeastern State University, the university center basement provides protection during the tornado season."

Upon completion of her course, Bellamy will graduate with a Bachelor of Science, as she is majoring in health and human performance with a minor in pre-medicine.

On returning to Australia, she hopes to complete a post-graduate Masters of Physiotherapy.

But before that she hopes to have her strongest season to date, which could be hard after such a successful junior year.

“This year when we beat Emporia State University, Kansas, on their home court, when they were ranked number two in the nation, was an absolute highlight,” she said.

“Emporia made it to the final four of the NCAA tournament this year, so that was a huge win for us.

“It was very encouraging to know that if we can beat such a good team, we can beat almost anyone.

“Once I do finish college, I intend to continue playing basketball at the highest level I can.”