With Rush and the Lady Braves coming off wins in the opening week of the season, Ballarat flew out of the blocks to establish a 13-point lead by half-time.

Eliza Roughead and Claire Blower were instrumental in Ballarat’s dominance, combining for 17 first-half rebounds to allow Ryleigh Haire and Taylah Wynne to pad the scoreboard. 

The Lady Braves boosted up a gear after the break, cutting the lead to draw level with 24 seconds to play.

A composed Roughead sealed the deal with a basket with 10 seconds left.

Miners could not match Rush’s effort in Big V Youth League Division One, losing to Hume City 79-91. 

With scores matched for most of the first half, the Broncos broke away in the third term thanks to a fast tempo. 

New addition Casey Marshall impressed for Ballarat with a game-high 32 points.

BIG V YOUTH

WOMEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

BALLARAT 61

BENDIGO 59

POINTS - Ballarat: R Haire 15, T Wynne 14 (3 three-pointers), C Blower 12, E Roughead 6, B Clark 4, C Constable 3 (1), O Jones 3, A Jarvis 2, M Mathews 2

REBOUNDS - Ballarat 55 (E Roughead 15, C Blower 10), Bendigo 45

ASSISTS - Ballarat 19 (E Roughead 5), Bendigo 12

BLOCKS - Ballarat 4 (C Blower 2), Bendigo 5

STEALS - Ballarat 7 (B Clark 2, O Jones 2), Bendigo 8

TURNOVERS - Ballarat 14, Bendigo 11

FOULS - Ballarat 16, Bendigo 7

SHOOTING - field, Ballarat 27-82 (32.9 per cent), Bendigo 22-78 (22.2); three-pointers, Ballarat 4-14 (38.6), Bendigo 2-13 (15.4); free throws, Ballarat 3-6 (50), Bendigo 13-20 (65

LADDER: Dandenong 2 wins, 146.05 per cent; 100 winning percentage; Melbourne 1, 112.90, 100; Ballarat 2m 104.55, 100; Ringwood 1, 119.69, 50; Bendigo 1, 109.38, 50; Eltham 1, 86.50, 33.33; Kilsyth 0, 70.29, -; Waverley 0, 33.93, -.

NEXT WEEK

Ballarat v Hawthorn at Minerdome on Saturday, 6pm

Eltham v Ballarat at Eltham on Sunday, 1pm

DIVISION 1 MEN

HUME CITY 91

BALLARAT 79

POINTS - Ballarat: C Marshall 32 (2 three-pointers), J Sullivan 12 (2), D Tilley 8, M Harvey 7, J Reeves 7, L Vitala 5 (1), T Fisher 3 (1), J Asiedu 3, J West 2

REBOUNDS - Hume City 51, Ballarat 34

ASSISTS - Hume City 16, Ballarat 15

BLOCKS - Hume City 4, Ballarat 2

STEALS - Hume City 4, Ballarat 2

TURNOVERS - Hume City 18, Ballarat 11

FOULS - Hume City 17, Ballarat 18

SHOOTING - field, Hume City 33-75 (44 per cent), Ballarat 28-75 (37.3); three-pointers, Hume City 8-29 (27.6), Ballarat 6-28 (21.4); free throws, Hume City 17-26 (65.4), Ballarat 17-23 (73.9)

LADDER: Whittlesea 1 win, 155.17 per cent, 100 winning percentage; Blackburn 1, 147.14, 100; Altona 1, 109.86, 100; Coburg 1, 105.36, 100; Sunbury 1, 102,94, 100; Hume City 1, 88.46, 50; Geelong 0, 97.14, -; Keysborough 0, 94.92, -; Werribee 0, 91.03, -; Ballarat 0, 86.81, -; Bendigo 0, 64.4, -; Camberwell -, -, -.

NEXT WEEK

Ballarat v Geelong at The Minerdome on Saturday, 8pm.