Nat Taylor
ADDING Nat Taylor, fresh from the international stage, should bolster Ballarat Rush’s finals push.
Taylor was back training with teammates yesterday morning for the first time in almost two months, after captaining New Zealand’s last-chance Olympic qualifying bid in Turkey.
The Tall Ferns bowed out of London contention a fortnight ago but flight troubles meant Taylor missed her expected return to the South East Australian Basketball League against the Geelong Supercats last Saturday night.
Taylor flew into Australia on Thursday and will be on court for a showdown against Brisbane at the Minerdome tomorrow.
Auslec Rush coach Donna Rinaldi said Taylor slipped back quickly into training – without jet-lag – and was a welcome strong asset for the team at the season’s business end.
“She’s fit and healthy and ready to go – she knows what she has to do to be ready to be on court,” Rinaldi said.
“Having Nat back just settles the team a little bit more and adds depth to the bench.
“Brisbane is a little short on numbers and we’ll be looking to run the game out hard.”
Play is guaranteed to be fiery. Taylor and Rush co-captains Kate Willey and Kristy Rinaldi each played for the Spartans with Donna Rinaldi as coach.
A heavy loss to the in-form Geelong Supercats last week marked Rush’s fourth consecutive defeat and has bumped Rush out of the south conference top four.
Rush is determined to turn its form about.
“We need to win.”
