Tue
Jun 20, 2023
Bendigo steps up for 15th straight win
Anthony Radford

“It took us a half of basketball to get everything in place, but once we did we hit our straps.
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The Champions IGA Bendigo Braves Women secured their place in the NBL1 South finals, and 15th consecutive victory for the season, with an impressive win against Eltham at Red Energy Arena on Sunday.
But Bendigo didn’t have it all their own way, down by five early in the first with Eltham’s hustle defence and fast transition game having an early impact.
The Braves eventually got their ball movement working to be down 15-17 at quarter time in a physical first term.
Reigning league Player of the Week Meg McKay went scoreless in the first quarter, but that didn’t last long, with a trademark tough layup to open the second-quarter.
McKay dominated with 13 points for the term, but Bendigo still went into half time down 40-42, on the back of strong outside shooting from Eltham.
With Amy Atwell on Opals duty, Bendigo needed to get used to their new roles, and they all stepped forward and into the spotlight in the third quarter.
Caitlin Richardson was given a key defensive job which freed up Cassidy McLean and Kelly Wilson to do their thing.Bendigo kept the Wildcats to an astonishing five points for the third term, piling on 24 of their own and sharing the scoring around.
The 64-47 scoreline heading into the last quarter was always going to be a match-winning lead for Bendigo, and they extended it even further, winning 85-60 in front of a vocal crowd.
McKay top scored with 25 points and 11 rebounds, Wilson finished with 16 points and 12 assists, and McLean came home like a train to end the afternoon on 13 points.
Richardson played her best game for the Braves Women, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds and the prized defensive scalp of Hailey Leidel.
Coach Mark Alabakov praised his team for its ability to be flexible and still perform at such a high level.
“We found out on Thursday night Amy was in the Opals team, so we didn’t have a chance to manage the new roles,” he said.
“It took us a half of basketball to get everything in place, but once we did we hit our straps.
“Eltham is a good side and we knew they would punish our mistakes, which they did early on.
“We set a goal to do three specific things on each defensive play, and we were probably doing only one or two most of the time in the first half.
“Once we started to do all three consistently, we were able to take control.”
Alabakov singled out Richardson for her performance.
“We gave Richo a key defensive role to allow Cass to focus on play making and scoring, and she was brilliant,” he said.
“She also managed to do her thing of getting intercepts and scoring in transition and from the arc, which was an added bonus.”
Atwell will miss the next three Braves game on national duty.
Photo - Craig Dilks Photography