Harvey Norman Ballarat Rush was fouled seven times to Hobart’s clear slate in the extra period, costing Rush a nine-point loss in South East Australian Basketball League action on Saturday night.

It was a bitter blow for Rush, a second controversial tight finish the past fortnight at the MARS Minerdome.

Rush coach Peter Cunningham was gutted, especially for his hard-working players.

“We didn’t receive the roll of the dice,” Cunningham said. “The girls fought hard and they deserved a better result. They’ve now got most teams saying you have to be careful about coming to Ballarat, no matter where we are on the ladder.

“We missed a couple of shots and a couple of put-backs but so did they – I’m proud of the girls’ effort and the way they played.”

Rush captain Abbey Wehrung set the tone with her 28 points, 14 rebounds but each player contributed to the team’s aggressive, defensive stance.

When the Lady Chargers opened the third quarter strong, Rush shut them down to two points scored in the second half of the term. The highly-fancied Lady Chargers had just four scorers, topped by Kathleen Scheer’s 30 points – even she was kept to two points in the third after a 20-point first half.