AN impressive 24 point performance by Joy Burke has helped lead the Ballarat Rush to a composed 10 point success against the Sandringham Lady Sabres on Friday night.
Coming off the back of a tight loss to Nunawading last week, the Rush hit the court running. Ballarat’s stars got active early, with Burke and Kerryn Harrington contributing to the scoreboard as the visitors went into the first break with an eight point lead.
Burke continued to prove a headache for the innacurate Lady Sabres, shooting 15 points for the half as the Rush went into half time with a 16 point buffer.
While the Ballarat outfit again looked the stronger in the opening moments of the second half, a Sandringham rally led by the likes of Amy Patton and Alana Gadsby put the hosts within striking distance for the final term.
Coming into the final 10 minutes with momentum, the Lady Sabres hit the board early and managed to level the scores with six minutes remaining.
However clutch plays from Kasey Burton and Kristy Rinaldi helped the Rush to steady the ship, as the Ballarat outfit managed to hold off the Lady Sabres to take the points 88-78.
The Rush will now prepare to take on Geelong in front of a home crowd on Saturday night. They will take confidence from their offensive options, with five players scoring double digits at Sandringham. While Abbey Wehrung’s scoring has been down, the point guard managed six assists.
