The Ballarat Rush had a disappointing weekend, losing games on both Saturday and Sunday in round 11 of the NBL1 Women's competition.
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On Saturday, the Rush were out-classed by a talented Bendigo team on the road, going down 81-71.
It was back and forth across the first quarter of action, with neither team able to create much separation.
Some sweet shooting and nice ball movement helped the Rush take a 26-25 lead into the first break, but from then on the Lady Braves' skill shone through.
Bendigo cut the Rush apart with their passing and stifled them with their tight defence, outscoring Ballarat 25-13 in the second quarter.
The Rush were able to keep themselves in the game for much of the second half, however couldn't reduce the deficit to anything less than eight-points, resulting in the 10-point loss.
Ballarat's Sunday game was similar in many ways it its Saturday game, with the Rush remaining competitive across much of the contest.
Debuting their new 'City' uniforms, the Rush started the game playing with fantastic pace, running on the fast break and moving the ball well en route to winning the first quarter 28-25.
In the second term the Bandits started using their size to their advantage, attacking the Rush inside and drawing three fouls early fouls on Joy Burke, limiting her to just six first half minutes.
Taking a 44-42 lead into half time, the Rush could not replicate their success stifling the Bandits in the second half, allowing the Bandits to score 58 points in the final two terms and falling 100-81.
DETAILS
FINAL SCORE
BALLARAT RUSH - 26, 13, 18, 14 (71)
BENDIGO LADY BRAVES - 25, 25, 19, 12 (81)
SCORERS: Rush - Burke 17, Taylor 11 (3 three-pointers), Hackmann 9 (1), Constable 9 (1), Cochrane 7, Jenkins 6, Amoore 5 (1), Blower 4, Collins 3 (1). Lady Braves - K. Wilson 20 (1), Tobin 18, Richards 13, Lavey 12 (2), Madgen 9 (1), A. Wilson 7, Dufelmeier 2.
STATS
REBOUNDS - Rush 42, Lady Braves 42
ASSISTS - Rush 24, Lady Braves 23
STEALS - Rush 6, Lady Braves 11
BLOCKS - Rush 2, Lady Braves 2
TURNOVERS - Rush 18, Lady Braves 9
FOULS - Rush 13, Lady Braves 11
FINAL SCORE
BALLARAT RUSH - 28, 16, 20, 17 (81)
ALBURY WADONGA BANDITS - 25, 17, 26, 32 (100)
SCORERS: Rush - Hackmann 22 (2 three-pointers), Burke 16 (1), Jenkins 13 (1), Amoore 12 (1), Cochrane 6, Taylor 5 (1), Collins 5 (1), Blower 2. Bandits - Edwards 26, Mahady 23 (4), Zavecz 20 (1), Daniels 18 (1), Hurst 7 (1), Harmon 6.
STATS
REBOUNDS - Rush 37, Bandits 57
ASSISTS - Rush 16, Bandits 17
STEALS - Rush 8, Bandits 4
BLOCKS - Rush 1, Bandits 4
TURNOVERS - Rush 5, Bandits 12
FOULS - Rush 19, Bandits 10
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