Britain’s first ever run in Division-A of EuroBasket during summer saw them win only one of eight games, a record shared by their fellow Group-A opponents, Romania, Finland and Bosnia, in the relegation round. 

 

However the relegation draw has smiled favourably upon the British team, offering them three home games in a row.

 

The first of these will be against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield on January 7.

 

It will be followed by matches against Romania at the Wildcats Arena on January 10 and Finland at the University of Worcester three days later.

 

Hutchinson, who started her career in Sheffield but is currently in Spain playing for Tenerife Aguere, believes the Yorkshire city is perfectly poised to get Britain off to a much needed flying start.

 

She said: “It will be great because Sheffield was one of the first places to actually start a women’s team and they are one of the few that have been established and have continued to be successful over the years.

 

“Sheffield is revolved around basketball, they do so much for all ages, from grassroots right up to senior.

 

"I know the [Sheffield] Hatters have a team for every age group. 

 

"There are a lot of people who get involved, voluntary of course and not only are the players passionate but so are the coaches, spectators and parents.”

 

FIBA, basketball's world governing body, have insisted that Britain demonstrate they are capable of competing at the highest level if they are to qualify for the automatic spot available to the Olympic hosts in 2012.

 

The men, inspired by the Chicago Bulls Luol Deng, have already qualified for the European Championships in Poland next summer, the first time they have reached the tournament since 1981.

 

Britain's women's head coach Mark Clark said: “There’s no doubt the home games are going to prove instrumental in hopefully maintaining our Division-A status. 

 

"The support of a home crowd can be like having an extra player on court so we need to utilise this advantage as we look to overcome three hard teams."

 

Tickets for the Sheffield match are on sale by phoning 01142 235693, the Nottingham game on 0115 915 0108 and the Worcester encounter on 01905 542251 or emailing [email protected].