The team, which Tony Long will coach with Shane Riley as his assistant, will join the Benalla Breakers men's team in the Country Basketball League this season, where they are set to face teams such as Shepparton, Seymour and Myrtleford.
And while Long said the women's team would not be smashing rival teams any time soon, the ultimate success of the team would prove to be the development of women's basketball in the region.
“The main aim is to get girls back on the court in Benalla and I think we’re achieving that,” Long said.
“It’s massive really. It’s history in the making in itself and all these girls are going to be apart of that.
“For them, it’s a big moment in time, for Benalla and Benalla basketball.”
Benalla Basketball Association president Wally Armstrong was also excited about the prospect of fielding a women's team this season.
“We thought we might get seven to eight girls, but to get 14 to 15 girls for the Lady Breakers this season, that is the biggest thrill we can bring to the town,” Armstrong said.
Long said it was incredibly important for Benalla to field a women's senior basketball team to ensure pathways were not broken once girls aged out of juniors, with players needing to travel to Shepparton and Wangaratta to play competitive senior basketball.
“Now you’ve got juniors coming through, you’ve got seniors at the top level, and then you move onto the next level,” Long said.
“To build slowly is a great place to be.”
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