In the final eight UWIC beat the University of Sussex, who are coached by GB men's manager Phil Waghorn. They then went on to secure their place in the final by seeing away London Metropolitan University, after Collins was interviewed by Vernon Kay on Radio 1.

In the final the UWIC guard saw her side 16 points down at one stage, but they clawed their way back to grab the title in a close encounter which was only won in the dying seconds of the game.

Having played in the inaugural National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, Collins was in a fine position to compare the two student Championships and she admitted that she was extremely impressed with the first ever British University Championships.

"It's hard to compare the two because student sport is on a totally different level in the States and also basketball's not really as developed here as it is in the USA.

"But I was really impressed with the British University Championships, it was a great way to showcase student sport and with so many sports here it was very much like a mini-Olympics. I reckon this even will grow and grow.

"It was nice being named MVP but at the end of the day we played really well together. Northumbria scored a lot of points but they slowed the play down which was frustrating."

Collins has two regular season games left before the playoffs and she admits that she is looking forward to playing for Great Britain again in the summer.

"I've seen the draw and with teams like Lithuania it's going to be a very good test for us.

"Last summer we showed that we can mix it with the best when we beat Bosnia & Herzegovina and I think that if we play like that again then we will continue to rise as a programme."