Despite leading at the first break, Ballarat Rush fell seven points short to a lively Sandringham outfit in South East Australian Basketball League competition at the Minerdome on Saturday.
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While Ballarat Skoda Rush made a comeback in the fourth term to level scores, Sandringham quickly shut down the crowd’s excitement by nailing three three-pointers in the final minutes.
Import Courtney Walker said changing to a zone helped Rush get back into the game, but the team needed to be moving more, talking and finding the shooters.
“The frustrating part for us was number nine (Hannah Kaser), who hit most of those threes down the stretch,” Walker said.
“We talked about her being their main shooter, so of all people to lose, we were disappointed that she was the one that we lost.”
Walker said the team had also missed injured Ashleigh Spencer’s presence on court.
“Her energy on the floor, she is always directing traffic and talking as well as her offence work, being able to score and being a really good passer,” Walker said.
Rush captain Kristy Rinaldi stepped up to top score with 23 points, hitting five big three pointers – two in the opening minutes of the game and another to clinch back the lead in the second quarter.
Walker (17 points and eight rebounds) and Taylah Wynne (13 points and four assists) also made double figures.
Meanwhile, the Sabres’ Jessica Bygate sustained an injury in the second term and could not continue the game.