When guard Bonnie Deas faced Australian basketball legend Sami Whitcomb, she had 48 points dropped on her head in just two games.
The freshman believes it's one reason why she's made a firing start to her American college career.
Deas played for the Sydney Flames in the WNBL last season and was only expected to feature a handful of times.
Yet injuries cruelled the side and suddenly she was thrust into the line-up, playing in a semi-final against the eventual champions, Bendigo Spirit, featuring Whitcomb.
"That's a WNBA player. I was having to face-guard her, and she still dropped 25 points on my head (in one game)," Deas told AAP.
"After guarding Whitcomb, I've become a massive fan. The way she plays, goes about things, and how professional she is, I just absolutely love her.
"I always keep looking back on my season with the Flames and just how much I've learned. Now in college, things are just clicking."
Deas, who plays for the University of Arkansas, is one of 119 Australian female college basketballers taking the court in the US this season.
The 19-year-old is thriving, breaking Arkansas freshman rebound records and averaging a double-double per game.
"I took that opportunity (WNBL) to just be a sponge and soak up as much as I could," Deas said.
"It's honestly helped with my growth in college, because I've been able to convert what I learned into my season."
Another emerging Australian talent, Sienna Harvey, is playing for the University of Washington, producing double-digit scoring performances and averaging 15 minutes per game.
But Harvey wouldn't have made it if it weren't for her parents driving three and a half hours to training sessions and games from Wodonga, in regional Victoria, to Melbourne.
When the guard decided she wanted to make a career out of basketball, she moved to Geelong aged just 14.
"I feel bad for the kids that still have to do that, it's a lot of travelling and everything," Harvey told AAP.
"I knew it (moving to Geelong) was going to help me and my basketball career, just because of travelling.
"(Playing college basketball) just shows no matter where you come from, you can really do anything. It definitely is cool."
The US college campaign is well under way, with the regular season to finish in March, before the best teams compete for the national championship.
