Kelly Wilson's life in the classroom has been stalled by a life on the hardwood, but the day the school teacher hangs up the basketball shoes is slowly creeping closer.
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The chance to play alongside Kelsey Griffin and chase another WNBL title convinced the Canberra Capitals star to put retirement on hold for at least one more season.
Why wouldn't she? Wilson left Townsville as a rejuvenated title winner and her body wasn't telling her to stop. Only when it does will the prospect of retirement become real for the veteran of 17 seasons.
More pressing for the 34-year-old is the prospect of securing a fourth WNBL championship as the Capitals prepare to host the Adelaide Lightning at the AIS Arena in game one of the grand final series on Saturday.
"Obviously once you get to my age people ask you that question. It’s a natural question to ask," Wilson said.
"I’ve never really mentioned it, and at the end of each season I sit down and assess and talk with my husband about what our plans for the future are, but right now I don’t have any."
Wilson has moved into fifth on the WNBL's all-time games played list and she could leapfrog Karen Dalton (375) into fourth should the grand final series go the distance.
Above her are Capitals great Jess Bibby (394), Rachael Sporn and Canberra general manager Lucille Bailie (377). Becoming the first player to reach 400 games is not out of the question as early as next season.
Instead of worrying about individual accolades, the school teacher by trade has set her sights on guiding a Canberra outfit boasting a healthy mixture of experience and youth to the summit.
"Everyone’s experience will be a little bit different, we all have different personalities so we deal with things differently," Wilson said.
"Definitely, we’ve been great all season as a team so that doesn't change this week. We’ve always been really supportive of one another, we have some great players in our team. Everyone plays their role and we know what our role is come this time of the season.
"We’ve had such great faith in our youngsters the whole season, there’s no reason why we won’t expect the same from them this weekend."
One of the rising stars set to play a key role in Canberra's search for an eighth championship is point guard Maddison Rocci.
While she hasn't been there for eight years of heartache, she knows exactly how tough the road back to the finals has been for the once-unstoppable Capitals.
Canberra slumped to 13 consecutive losses during Rocci's rookie season, but she rose to greater heights than many expected to help the Capitals out of the rut and off the bottom of the table.
Now a grand final appearance has her so pumped "words can't describe how exciting it is".
"Having lost those 13 in a row last year, the disappointment we did have, to come out this year and be on top of the table and play the way we have been, it’s very good," Rocci said.
"Last season was not the best season, but to come out this season and turn things around to finish on top of the table and head into the grand final, which was our major goal for the season, is an amazing thing the club has done and for the players involved.
"The experience we have is amazing, we have players that have played in multiple WNBL championships and thew calibre we have is great.
"They’re very encouraging, they’re always there for us if something happens, they’ll have our back. I know there is a bit of nerves in the younger players but they’re just pushing us through."
WNBL GRAND FINAL SERIES
Saturday: Game one - Canberra Capitals v Adelaide Lightning at AIS Arena, 5.30pm (AEDT). Tickets from Ticketek. Live on Fox Sports.
Wednesday: Game two - Adelaide Lightning v Canberra Capitals at Adelaide Arena, 7pm (AEDT). Live on Fox Sports.
Saturday: Game three (if necessary) - Canberra Capitals v Adelaide Lightning at AIS Arena, 5.30pm (AEDT). Live on Fox Sports.
