Lauren Jackson makes her basketball comeback with Albury-Wodonga Bandits

In her first game since retiring six years ago, the 40-year-old posted 21-points and five rebounds against the Crusaders at Terrigal's Breakers Indoor Sports Stadium, then backing it up with 36-points and 15 rebounds in the Bandits' victory against the Hornets in Sydney.

"It was great to have her out there, she's great for the other players with her leadership and poise around the ball," coach Matt Paps said.

"Her first game was a bit rusty but pretty solid, and you could see she was getting a bit of a feel for it and was great on Sunday.

"She got through it unscathed and unhurt, so I'm happy for her to get back on court and have that smile again."

Paps expects opposition sides to have the Bandits in their sights after Jackson's inclusion, with the Crusaders coming within 17-points of them at the final buzzer.

"They're going to come at us as hard as they can," Paps said.

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"They played hard and it's an opportunity for a lot of these other players to go against Lauren and the rest of us."

It also marked the comeback of former Bandit Molly Rice, who helped in the absence of under-20 nationals player Amelia Hassett.

Ai Yamada was strong across both games, with 19-points against Central Coast and 20 against the Hornets.

Border product Casey Ardern was also impressive defensively.

"Everyone just contributed and played their part and had their moment," Paps said.

The Bandits have now put their first win on the board after falling to Illawarra during their first clash at home.

After travelling over seven hours to meet their opponents, Paps admitted it's something the team will just have to get used to.

"It is what it is, we have a no complaining rule and we will just have to deal with it," Paps said.

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