It was the side's first time playing CBL in two years given there was no female competition last year because there weren't enough teams.

The Katie O'Keefe-led side had numerous debutants and Matilda Sewell was one of them.

The 15-year-old made her Big V debut earlier this year so was already familiar with hustle and bustle of playing against older opponents.

But she still had nerves because it had been so long since she had played a game for the Mermaids.

"I was nervous that I'd be a bit rusty, I haven't had real game practice for a while," the forward said.

"It's a bit different to training which is a bit stop-start - you do something then you work on it if you're not doing it well. In the game it's just go, go, go."

She was pleasantly surprised to have a strong crowd cheering the team on as the coronavirus pandemic has meant no crowds have been allowed in recent months.

"It was good because if you do something well or one of your teammates hits a three, you hear the crowd going," she said.

The Mermaids thumped the Surfcoast Chargers 105-36 on Saturday at The Arc before defeating Portland Coasters 78-50 at the same venue on Sunday.

Sewell, who scored 14 points, felt the Mermaids were disciplined in their first game and didn't let up.

"Even though we were ahead from the beginning, we didn't drop, we kept hustling," she said.

The home side also hit the front early against Portland and Sewell top-scored with 16 points.

The teenager is enjoying having both O'Keefe and Lee Primmer as her mentors.

Primmer coaches the Big V team as well as the under 18 squad side Sewell plays in.

Sewell values the on-court communication O'Keefe brings as playing-coach.

"She's really loud on offence and defence so you know where you should be and what you should be doing," she said.

It's been a sudden dive back into sport for Sewell since coronavirus restrictions allowed.

The Koroit netballer was among the youngsters who missed out on a full finals series in the Hampden league because of the pandemic.

Her 15 and under Saints team was undefeated going into the campaign.

She's been back at Saints training recently for 17 and under try-outs. Her busy weeks also include basketball refereeing, domestic basketball, coaching juniors and squad training.

The under 18 squad is going to the Shepparton tournament this weekend.

The CBL team has a bye as most of the players are in the under 18 side as well.

In the CBL men's competition, Warrnambool Seahawks won their opening game 73-64 over Surfcoast Chargers while the Portland Coasters beat Mount Gambier Lakers in a thrilling 70-68 battle.

Portland Coasters proved too strong for the Seahawks on Sunday, running away with a 80-54 victory.