The road to 300: Sara Blicavs and her journey through the highs and lows of sport

When Sara Blicavs suits up against the Southside Melbourne Flyers on Friday night, it will be her 300th WNBL game. It’s an important career milestone that as recently as 12 months ago, didn’t even feel anywhere close to happening.

Towards the end of the 2023/24 WNBL season, Sara was facing a crossroad not only in her basketball career, but also her life. For months, she was dealing with constant pain in her lower body which hindered her ability to run, jump, and sprint like she normally would.

She kept persevering through the pain – “you kind of just numb it out,” she previously said – because she was hell-bent on suiting up for the Opals at the 2024 Olympics.

But she knew she had to do something – if not for her basketball career, but also for her quality of life.

“It wasn’t even about basketball anymore. It was just about being able to get off the couch comfortably and not be scared when I sneezed. Feeling like that at 30 is not normal,” she said.

In March 2024, Sara decided to have spinal fusion and disc replacement surgery on her back. The procedure repaired multiple fractures in her back and an almost non-existent disc, resulting in “bone-on-bone” impact in her vertebrae.

The recovery was grueling and not without its fair share of challenges – Sara basically had to re-learn how to walk and move again. But as she has done so every step of her career, she powered through, and with the guidance of her team at the Victoria Institute of Sport, she was able to hit every milestone – progressing from walking, to running and jumping, and eventually back to basketball.

And back to basketball she went – Sara got re-started with her junior club, the Melbourne Tigers for the NBL1 season, averaging 19.6 points and 8 rebounds per game. Then she got another Opals call out, suiting up in the Trans-Tasman Series and in the FIBA Asia Cup, where she helped lead the team to the country’s first ever gold medal in the event. In between, she decided to sign with the Capitals to resume her WNBL career, and said she felt better than ever.

"I feel like I'm 23 years old again. I haven't felt pain-free in so long and I feel like on court, things are working out because of that exact reason," she said.

So far, she has started all 10 games for the Caps this season, averaging 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Nearly halfway through the season, the Caps have started finding their groove and have won the past two games to jump into the coveted fourth spot in the ladder.

“The vibes are high. It’s been really good energy and it’s been a nice reward for our efforts and it has been a hard grind and to have things come together now and feel like we’re onwards and upward is a really good feeling,” she said.

“It’s really nice to finally get our full roster together and we feel like we’re not really starting to build on what we can do.”

When she takes the court at the AIS Arena on Friday night for WNBL game 300, Sara is grateful to still be around after all the adversity she has faced throughout her career.

“I’m so old!” she jokes.

“After all the adversity I’ve gone through, I’m definitely patting myself on the back and I’m proud of myself and giving myself my own flowers. I’ve had injuries, been out for entire season, I’ve gone through lacking confidence and self-doubt and to go through the absolute highs and lows of sport and still be playing…it’s really cool to know that I’ve achieved 300.”

As Sara reflects on her journey and all the individual achievements and championship teams she’s been a part of throughout her WNBL career, she’s determined to make the season she celebrates her 300th game one to remember for herself and for the Caps faithful.

“What would complement celebrating my 300th game this season will be a championship with the UC Capitals,” she said.

“The Caps fans have been great. The atmosphere here has been amazing…and I’d like to think this is the hardest stadium for opposing teams to come play in and I love that. They get around us and they get on the other team as well and we can really feel the support out there.”

Catch Sara and the Caps against the Southside Melbourne Flyers at 7pm this Friday, 12 December at the AIS Arena. Tickets here.

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