Ballarat Miners were unable to get the job done on the road against Sandringham on Saturday night, suffering their biggest loss of the South East Australian Basketball League season.
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After a tight contest to start the game, a dominant 30-17 second term from the Sabres helped set up the upset victory.
While Ballarat GMHBA Miners captain Peter Hooley had his best score for the season with a game-high 35 points, his effort alone could not ignite the team against an impressive Sandringham scoring combination.
Nathan Crosswell, Anthony Odunsi and Olympian David Barlow all top scored for Sandringham collecting 57 points between them, while captain Igor Hadziomerovic contributed 18 points.
Meanwhile, after a competitive three quarters, Ballarat Rush fell away in the final 10 minutes to also go down by 19 points to Sandringham.
Ballarat Skoda Rush led at the first break, before the Sabres took control in the second quarter led by Jessica Bygate to be in front at half-time.
While the third term was another tight battle, the Sabres ran away with victory with a 25-14 final quarter at Sandringham Basketball Stadium.
Rush leaders Joy Burke (17 points and 13 rebounds) and Courtney Walker (10 points and 10 rebounds) both made double-doubles, while captain Kristy Rinaldi was also among Rush’s best with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Olympian Rachel Jarry led for the Sabres with an impressive game of 23 points, nine rebounds, 11 assists to just miss out on making a triple-double.
