Last week she helped her team to victory against Millicent Magic for the opening round of the Country Basketball League 2019-20 season.

Jones said she had been nervous but excited to return.

"Once I got out there, it was great. I probably took sport for granted in a way. Only when something like that is taken away can you truely appreciate it," she said.

"I couldn't be happier to get out there and play for fun with some of my best friends; I had a smile from ear to ear."

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Jones found out in June 2018 that she had a break in her foot due to a netball injury. She plays for the Horsham Demons.

"There's a bit of a gap between netball ending and basketball starting so I thought I'd use that time to get my foot right," she said.

"I decided to keep playing last year through netball finals and went to basketball training, so I would wear my moon boot every other time. I thought I was going to be okay once October came around, but found out that the bone was displaced and had moved four millimetres.

"Then I went into a plaster for six weeks. Once that was taken off I was told there was no improvement and that I needed surgery. That's when it really hit home that the season was over for me."

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Jones has been playing basketball for 16 years. Up until last year, she had never missed a season.

"I grew up in Bendigo and I went through all the junior squad stuff there. In 2010 I moved to Ballarat and played for the Rush," she said.

"After university I moved to Horsham for a teaching job. A few girls suggested that I'd come along to training and that's how I started playing for the Hornets. This is my third year with the Hornets, but only my second year actually playing."

After being told she couldn't play in the 2018-19 season, Jones was asked to help assistant coach the team.

"I jumped on board because I still wanted to be a part of it," she said.

She said she had high hopes that the team would make finals this season.

"From that first game last weekend, one of the highlights was seeing 14-year-old Imogen Worthy shoot a three-pointer and seeing every person on the court celebrate," she said.

"The culture that (coach) Tony Sleep is providing is such a different vibe this season. The support of the coaching team and our supporters is fantastic; we have a really strong, young group who is really committed.

"If we can keep doing what we're doing then I think we'll give finals a red, hot crack this season."

Jones is a psychical education teacher at Nhill College. She also coaches a Horsham Hornets junior basketball squad.

The Lady Hornets will play the Bellarine Storm away at the weekend.

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