Coach Kristi Harrower's "truth serums" are crucial for the Southside Melbourne Flyers to propel themselves into a finals spot, says captain Cayla George.
Harrower hasn't been afraid to tell her team what she's really thinking, calling them "ridiculous", "killer" and "soft" in some rather forthright press conferences, as well as saying they were "manhandled".
But George sees the harsh feedback from the four-time Olympian as something that can take the fifth-placed Flyers to the WNBL finals.
It comes as Southside Melbourne snapped a four-game losing streak, defeating Geelong Venom 86-58 on Tuesday.
"Kristi is an incredible human and she's just a ball of honesty. She's no bullshit," George said ahead of the Flyers' clash against the Bendigo Spirit on Sunday.
"As entertaining as they (press conferences) are for you, it's our reality, and we have to reflect and get better from that.
"Her truth serums will continue to keep us accountable … negative things can feel like learning to help you grow as an athlete, as a human, as a team.
"Sometimes you have to get to these low points, grind it out and get to a better place. Right now, finals are still in our control."
The Townsville Fire and Sydney Flames will match up twice in round 10, but for the Fire's Lauren Cox and Sydney's Lara McSpadden, the clash has extra significance.
That's because they are the only WNBL players who live with type one diabetes.
Cox says playing on the same court as McSpadden is an opportunity to show the next generation they can "chase their dreams regardless of their diabetes".
"Anytime I see another athlete, whatever sport it is, playing with their diabetes, we just have that connection," Cox told AAP ahead of the matches on Saturday and Tuesday.
"Sometimes (kids) are told they can't really do things anymore (when they're diagnosed).
"I want to show them that if they take care of themselves ... they can do anything they set their mind to."
Cox knows that living with the disease and playing elite sport isn't easy, though.
"Today, during practice, I had to sit down for about 10 minutes because I had low blood sugar," the forward said.
"But, if I don't keep moving forward, this diabetes can kill me, and that's just the reality of it."
McSpadden has played alongside other type one diabetics when she was part of the Rockhampton Cyclones in the NBL1.
"We all looked out for each other, we know what symptoms are different, what events look like," she told AAP.
"It was cool to have people who knew what you were going through and be that extra support for each other."
Around the league, Bendigo hosts the Adelaide Lightning on Friday before the UC Capitals play Geelong on Saturday.
The Perth Lynx will play two games in three days, starting with the Lightning on Sunday and the Capitals on Tuesday.
