New Adelaide coach Kerryn Mitchell will look to speak to Isobel Borlase in the next 24 hours in a bid to keep the Paris Olympian in South Australia.
Mitchell inked a contract to become the club's new WNBL coach on Tuesday morning and her focus has immediately turned to keeping South Australia's Big 3 - Borlase, Opals teammate and triple Olympian Steph Talbot, who's currently playing in the WNBA, and young star Tayla Brazel.
One of the brightest young stars in Australian basketball, Borlase, 20, debuted for the Lightning in 2022-23 but burst on to the scene the following year winning the Betty Watson Breakout Player of the Year award.
In April 2023, she was selected by the Atlanta Dream with pick 20 in the WNBA draft and in August was part of the Opals team which returned to the Olympic podium and won a bronze medal in Paris.
Borlase was last week named in Australia's team for July's FIBA Asia Cup in China.
"It's [a] massive [priority]. From all reports, Borlase is at least halfway out the door, so I've got my work cut out for me," Mitchell told ESPN on Tuesday.
"Hopefully we can catch up tomorrow [Wednesday], she's in Melbourne playing NBL1. Adelaide is her home, it's where her family are, she's a 20-year-old Olympian and I'm going to give it my best crack as priority.
"Steph's experience is invaluable, she's the marquee player, she's South Australian through and through and we need her in that team, the locals need to be able to see locals stepping up at this level.
"And then Brazel is a young talent coming off a second ACL. If you've got those three, you're in pretty good shape from a South Australian point of view."
Seven-time WNBL champion Nat Hurst coached the Lightning from 2022 until last December when she parted ways with the club, former Adelaide 36ers mentor Scott Ninnis then took the reins as the Lighting finished the season in sixth position, with a 7-14 record.
Having last won a championship in 2008, the Lightning haven't made the finals since 2021-22 under Chris Lucas.
Interestingly, Mitchell, 51, is Hurst's Tall Ferns assistant coach and in a genuine display of women supporting women, Hurst was a reference for Mitchell during the Adelaide process despite her own sour ending at the SA franchise.
As a player, Mitchell (nee Owens) made her WNBL debut for her junior club the Nunawading Spectres and went on to play with the Dandenong Rangers, Hobart, Canberra, who she would captain, and Perth. She also played professionally in Europe.
Mitchell has done the hard yards progressing through the basketball pathways leading the Flinders College basketball academy and coaching Youth League and NBL1 women's teams.
She spent two WNBL seasons as assistant coach to Cheryl Chambers at Southside Flyers and was part of the 2023-24 championship.
Basketball is life in the Melbourne home of the Mitchell's, husband Simon is currently general manager of basketball operations at South East Melbourne Phoenix and is a former coach of the NBL club.
Kerryn will move to Adelaide in mid-August while Simon will remain in Melbourne with children Mack (20) plus Spencer (16) and Frankie (14) who are entrenched in school and basketball.
"Simon will have to step up," she laughed.
"My parents John and Jenny are the best and live five minutes away. They're so active, come to all the kids' basketball games, just because they enjoy it and will step up and do some drop offs and pick-ups.
"I'll still do the lunch orders from Adelaide, I've got the app!"