It might be a name synonymous with Ballarat, but Kristy Rinaldi has ensured her family name has been known all around the country for the past 18 years.
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A legend of the Ballarat Rush and Ballarat basketball in general, Rinaldi this weekend will bring up her 300th game for her hometown team when the Rush travel to Tasmania for a double-header against Hobart and Launceston.
For the club, knowing it has been able to rely on Rinaldi's signature every year since 2007 has given it some major stability in a sport that can see plenty of movement.
For Rinaldi herself though, there was no doubt that Ballarat would always be home, despite three separate WNBL stints with Dandenong, Bendigo and Adelaide and a three-years living in Brisbane from 2004-07.
"It means the world to me to play 300 games at this level with Ballarat, having grown-up here my whole life, it's a special moment," she said.
"I just love the club so much, I guess I feel I'm super loyal and I think if you ask people around the club about the milestone, it was only going to happen here."
At 35, Rinaldi realises that time is limited on the court, but says the 18 months off had left her body feeling the best it had been in years.
"You never really know, last year was such a tough year for everyone with not playing," she said.
"After 18 months out of the game, of course there were a few doubts whether my body could hold up, but right now the body feels amazing and I'm back playing good basketball, I couldn't be happier."
This year the Rush is focusing on youth - and local youth at that - and it's already paying big dividends after a stunning 32-point rout of Albury-Wodonga in Round 1
"Albury were a tough team and playing there with their crowd, I was so proud of the way we went about it," Rinaldi said. "We're super young this year, but it's so exciting... We've got nine players in the squad team and I think eight of us are local girls.
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"The mindset is, 'we know we're young, let's go out, let's give it our all'.
"What's the worst can happen is you miss and then you go again, that's all there is to it."
"Someone like Millie Sharp, I think she's just turned 17 and she came on at the weekend and played about 10 minutes, you can't buy that sort of experience so young," Rinaldi said,
"It's great for their confidence because they are a crucial part of the team and these girls are not scared of anything."
The 300th will be brought up against Launceston on Saturday night, but first the Rush need to get through Hobart on Friday night. Hobart and Launceston met in the opening round of the season with Launceston securing a big 30-point win.
Led by Keely Froling, the twin sister of Ballarat Rush player Alicia Froling who shot 42 points and 22 rebounds, Launceston finished off the match in style with a 28-11 last quarter.
While she would have loved to bring up her 300th at home, Rinaldi said if she had a second choice it would be to do it in Launceston.
"I played my 200th in Tasmania so it's kind of fitting, my 250 was at home and it would have been nice to do it again at home, but wherever it is, I'm happy," she said.
"It's always a big game and we always play for the The Madeleine Howard Shield, which is dedicated to 17-year-old who was killed in a car accident on her way to a game.
Ballarat was the first club to play Launceston after it happened and we've always played this game for her.
"So if I had a second choice, this is definitely where I'd like to bring up the milestone."
The Rush meet Hobart on Friday night, and Launceston on Saturday night. The first home game is May 1 against Bendigo.
