At age 39 Braves' star Wilson is still setting the tone on court

Original Piece by Luke West for The Bendigo Advertiser

Bendigo Braves women's coach Mark Alabakov continues to marvel at the output of veteran point guard Kelly Wilson following a performance worthy of earning her the latest NBL1 player of the week honour.

At age 39 Wilson is showing no signs of slowing down and has been pivotal in the Braves women's unblemished start to the season.

The ladder-leading Braves women last weekend improved to 8-0 with a 110-76 win at home over Hobart.

It was a win highlighted by a stellar showing from Wilson, who dished out 19 assists to go with 11 points and seven rebounds to earn the NBL1 women's player of the week accolade.

"The sample of history of players of a similar age to Kelly suggests she still shouldn't be able to do what she is doing anymore," Alabakov said on Thursday.

"But having said that, she has a literal sixth sense for the game of basketball and the diligence she has always had for her strength and conditioning... she has looked after her body so well and just being able to get up and keep going has been a hallmark throughout her whole career.

"She looks like she never ages... she seems to come back quicker, leaner and more muscular each year and I say this in the most complimentary way that she is just like a basketball alien."

Wilson - who is also the WNBL games record holder with more than 400 - is averaging the most minutes for the Braves women across the first eight games.

She's averaging 35.9 minutes per game and contributing 12.6 points, 12.0 assists and 6.5 rebounds.

"Kelly is a born winner and one of those players who will always make the right play for the team and that's what makes her worth her weight in gold," Alabakov said.

"I liken her a bit to our version of Joel Selwood in the sense she is so courageous, does anything you need to win a game, galvanises her team-mates and when she needs to stand up, she has that ability to produce when the stakes are at their highest.

"This season we've given her a little more of a role in terms of scoring to balance the load so we're far less reliant on one or two players to have to get us 30 points a game. You will see a lot of our games where we've had multiple players score in double figures and a spread of different players who may be up around the 25 to 30-mark.

"So where Kelly has been able to keep her scoring load up, but also be a faciliator as well... it just comes back to playing whatever the role is needed for the team on the night."

Adding to Wilson's monster passing game last Saturday was her 19 assists came with just one turnover.

Of the eight games played this season, last Saturday night was the sixth where Wilson has dished out at least 11 assists.

The Braves' women will be back on court this Saturday night at Bendigo's Red Energy Arena from 6pm to play the Dandenong Rangers (4-5).

The Bendigo-Dandenong men's game will follow from 8pm.

The Braves' women's and men's teams will wear pink warm-up shirts and pink socks for the games in support of the Breast Cancer Network Australia.

This weekend's NBL1 matches are being played under the banner of the PLAY4BCNA Pink Round.

NBL1 clubs across the country will show their support for Australians affected by breast cancer this weekend through a range of partnership activities and events.