THE Ballarat Rush have split their double-header weekend, getting sweet revenge on Bendigo with a hard fought win on the road on Sunday.
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It was the Rush's fourth win of the season and was achieved with just seven players on the court after a hard-fought contest the night before against Eltham.
The Rush found themselves down by seven points at the first change, but an inspired second quarter led by the in-form Taylah Wynne and tall Alicia Froling saw them take a four-point lead into the main break.
Extending the lead in the third term, the Rush had to withstand a late surge by the home side.
With five minutes left, the Rush led by 10 points, but Bendigo soon reduced the margin to just five, but the Rush held their nerve in the final stages to run out 78-70 winners.
Froling top scored with 22 points and brought down 14 rebounds, Wynne scored 20 and Jasmine Simmons had her most productive game on the scoreboard with 15 points, but importantly bringing down 10 rebounds of her own.
On Saturday night at home, the Rush started strongly, going against their recent run of slow starts and strong finishes.
This time the Rush got out of the blocks against the fifth-ranked opponents, but were not able to go the distance, going down 82-63.
It wasn't the send off Claire Constable would have wanted, with the 25-year-old Rush star set to take a break to concentrate on family and work commitments going forward.
Taylah Wynne was a shining light on the night, top scoring with 20 points while Jasmine Simmons was outstanding on the boards, pulling down 16 rebounds.
The Rush had no answer to Anneli Maley who was dominant for the Eltham side with 17 points and 17 rebounds.
Scoreboards
Saturday: Rush 63 (T. Wynne 20, A Froling 10, K. Rinaldi 10) def by Eltham 82 (A. Maley 17, R. Pizzey 17)
Sunday: Rush 78 (A. Forling 22, T. Wynne 20) def Bendigo 70 (A. Wehrung 25, C. McLean 14)