The pair arrived in town in late February and a little more than a month later Ballarat already feels like home. 

“I’ve really enjoyed it so far,” Walker said. 

“It’s a good getaway from being in Atlanta… I like the town and how everybody is invested in the town.”

She said her new teammates had been friendly and welcoming, with Joy Burke even taking the two imports on a road trip to Torquay and Bells Beach over Easter. 

During training the focus has been on the players getting to know each other on the floor and learning to work to their strengths. 

“The vibe on the team has been really good, I’m really excited for our chemistry going forward,” Walker said.

It is one of the reasons Ballarat Skoda Rush coach Eric Hayes had wanted the imports to arrive early.

So far his plan seemed to be working. 

“Just being here a month early, being able to start practice, even work outs in the morning where we’re going against each other and getting a feel for what everybody does and practice last night, the chemistry was 10 times better than the first practice we had,” Walker said.

And the coach has already made a strong impression. 

“He pays attention to detail a lot like American coaches and emphasises toughness, how you practise is how you play, so practise hard,” Walker said.

“He is kind of laid back, he is not going to yell all the time... the way he does it is really good because he knows how to relate to different people in individual ways and as a team.”

For Williams, the atmosphere in Ballarat reminds her of what she experienced at college in the United States, so there has not been a big culture change. 

“Everything has gone by fast, I think because we are enjoying it,” she said.

“My teammates, their sense of humour is fun – they like a lot of the things we talk about and laugh at a lot of things we talk about and I think that helps our chemistry on the court. We fit in pretty well.”

The key focus for Rush will be producing a strong start to the season after eight consecutive losses last year before a late charge towards finals. Williams said the team wanted to turn 0-8 around to 8-0 and believed her competitive spirit and leadership could help. 

“I know the game well, so if I can rub that off onto my teammates then I think we will be fine throughout the season and going into playoffs and trying to win this championship,” she said.

The imports are counting down to Friday night when they play their first game.