HEYWOOD-based basketballer Tyleah Barr hasn’t let injury prevent her ascension in the Big V Warrnambool Mermaids program, with the youngster slotting two free throws in their underdog victory against Mildura on Saturday to seal the game.

With 30 seconds left the Mermaids were up by two points, with Barr sent to the line after a foul for two free throws where she slotted both to finish Mildura, 77-73.

The side went into the game without two of their regular starting five as well as other significant contributors, with the team touting the win as one of their best in years.

Barr cemented herself as a starting option in the first part of the season before an ankle injury forced her to the sideline for the past month.

Saturday’s game was just her third upon return from injury, where she was a huge presence in her near 35 minutes of court time.

“It was a great game to play in and I was happy I hit those two free throws,” Barr said.

“We were up by two, so I had to get both in to kind of seal the game – it wasn’t too bad in the end, all of my teammates just kept telling me ‘you’re good’.

“We were so happy with the win – especially when we’re travelling all the way to Mildura you want to make it worth it.”

Barr slotted 12 points for the game, led the overall assists with five and had eight rebounds and three steals across the match.

The team was without point guard Mia Mills, strong and versatile post presence Amy Wormald as well as big scoring contributors Molly McKinnon and Molly McLaren.

“We were pretty young across the team on Saturday, and we only had eight players all up,” Barr said.

“Everyone stood up where they needed to, and everyone was on fire with their shooting and in defence.

“We had patches where we dropped but we were able to push on.”

After suffering a significant ankle injury in netball one month ago, Barr has been on limited playing time to work back into the game which was tested on Saturday.

“I’m just getting back into the swing of it; I played a lot of minutes on Saturday night which is the first time since I was out.

“It’s been getting better and better but I just gave it time.

“I definitely felt like I lost a bit of my rhythm out on court shooting and in defence but I’ve been doing a bit more training, so I feel like I’m getting back to where I was.”

Warrnambool currently sits on top of the division one women ladder with just two losses for the season.

It will be a huge weekend for the Mermaids as they hit the road tomorrow to play a double-header in Melbourne against Warrandyte tomorrow night and Craigieburn on Sunday.