The return to form began on Saturday night when the Rush powered past the Hobart Lady Chargers 80-69.  A huge 28 points off the bench helped the home side to the win against the lowly Lady Chargers after the visitors led at quarter time.

Joy Burke proved to be instrumental for the Rush in front of a big home crowd, as the import amassed 15 rebounds on top of 19 points to crush the Lady Chargers hopes.

However the weekend’s true challenge lay in their match on the road on Sunday afternoon, where they faced the east conference leaders in the Dandenong Rangers.  The Rangers had dropped just two matches this season.

The contest at Dandenong Stadium proved to be tight from the get-go, with the home team managing to establish a narrow two point lead heading into the first break.

The fixture continued to be even across the court in the second term with neither side boasting exceptional conversion from field goals.

The Ballarat outfit was able to wrestle control of the match in the third quarter as the bench again stepped up to contribute on the scoreboard.  Sixteen points from Kasey Burton’s 20 minutes of play allowed the Rush to gradually move away from the home side, taking the points 74-65.

Rush co-captain Kerryn Harrington said the efforts of all nine players who took to the court over the two games was what got the Rush over the line.

“(Coach David Flint’s) been preaching since day one we’ve got the depth that on any given day people can step up to the main positions,” Harrington said.  “The contribution we’ve had across the board is the best.” 

The weekend’s results leave the Rush on seven wins and five losses for the 2016 season.   The wins also come off the back of a three game losing streak for the Ballarat side.

Harrington said while the side had been disappointed to drop the three fixtures, the weekend’s performance demonstrated what the Rush were capable of.  “There was a few things we needed to tinker with and this has been a real reward for effort.”

The Rush will now have a week off before facing off against arch rivals the Bendigo Braves, who were comfortably defeated by Brisbane on the weekend.