RUSH promised speed, organisation and stronger defence.
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But they failed to deliver in a South East Australian Basketball League season-opener against Bendigo at the MARS Minerdome on Friday night.
Harvey Norman Ballarat Rush fell 32 points short before the strong home crowd that featured strong representation from talent in town for the Australian under 18 national championships.
Now, Rush must quickly regroup for another huge game in Geelong on Saturday night.
Rush coach Peter Cunningham was clear with his players this first start was below par but Geelong offered a fresh start.
"We had high expectations and hype that we didn't live up to," Cunningham said.
"We weren't fast enough, our defence was no good and we didn't play as a team."
Rush's first quarter was promising enough.
A late Tessa Lavey three-pointer pushed the Lady Braves' lead to five points by quarter-time.
Once the Lady Braves made a 21-point run, Rush struggled to claw back. Bad habits then crept in.
Rush worked in youth league players, who held their own on the floor.
They shot 21 points off the bench.
Overall, Rush gave up 24 turnovers, 24 points from turnovers and 12 steals.
Cunningham said most were the result of simple errors, while the Lady Braves played smarter and as a more cohesive team.
Rush's top-scorer was Olivia Thompson. She made 10 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes.
Lavey (22 points) and Kerryn Harrington (21) were the Lady Braves' key scoring avenues.
The fact Rush starters did not run to the end should keep them fresh enough to take on Geelong and relaunch their campaign how they intended.
BENDIGO 22 46 69 83
BALLARAT 17 27 34 51
POINTS – Bendigo: Lavey 22 (4 three-pointers), Harrington 21 (3), Robertson 16, Wilson 15 (1), Bairstow 8, Britten 1. Ballarat: Thompson 10, Burton 7, Rinaldi 7, Alexander 6, May 5 (1), Constable 4 (1), Greaves 4, Clark 4, Haire 2, Roughead 2.
REBOUNDS – Bendigo 39 (Robertson 9, Bairstow 7), Ballarat 44 (Greaves 10, Thompson 10)
ASSISTS – Bendigo 18 (Wilson 10), Ballarat 13
BLOCKS – Bendigo 4, Ballarat 3
STEALS – Bendigo 12, Ballarat 6
TURNOVERS – Bendigo 12, Ballarat 24
FOULS – Bendigo 11, Ballarat 12
SHOOTING – field goals Bendigo 38-78 (44%), Ballarat 23-72 (32%); three-pointers, Bendigo 8-25 (32%), Ballarat 3-18 (17%); free throws, Bendigo 7-10 (70%), Ballarat 2-4 (50%).