THE Bendigo Braves women's remarkable run of 33-consecutive wins came to an end at the hands of Sandringham in the NBL1 on Saturday night.
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For the first time since the 2022 grand final the Braves women were on the end of a defeat when they squandered a 14-point lead at three quarter-time against the Sabres.
Sandringham launched a stirring last quarter revival at Bendigo's Red Energy Arena.
Having started the final term trailing 76-62 the Sabres scored 15 unanswered points inside the opening four minutes of the last quarter to wrestle the momentum from the Braves.
After surrendering the lead the Braves - playing without star Amy Atwell, who is trialing with WNBA team Phoenix - responded and with 4:37 left on the clock led by three points, 84-81, following a Meg McKay lay-up.
However, the Sabres kicked again and on the back of six points in a row the visitors led 87-84 before a three-pointer to Bendigo's Alex Wilson tied the scores at 87 apiece with 2:10 remaining.
With the game on the line Sandringham's Juna Umezawa sunk a pair of free throws with 1:14 left on the clock to give Sandringham the lead and the visitors wouldn't relinquish it, pulling away for a 94-88 victory.
Following their 2022 grand final loss to Ringwood by 16 points the Bendigo Braves women last year won all 28 games they played en route to the NBL1 national championship before starting this season 5-0.
Sandringham becoming the team to end Bendigo's stunning winning streak was also the first time the Sabres had beaten the Braves since 2015.
Bendigo was beaten despite a triple double from star veteran Kelly Wilson, who stacked the stat sheet with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists, while she also had four steals.
McKay was also a strong presence with 33 points and 11 rebounds, while Alex Wilson nailed four three-pointers in her 27 points before flying out to Japan to represent Australia at the upcoming Olympic 3x3 basketball qualification tournament.
The Braves women rebounded strongly on Sunday with a 35-point demolition of fellow championship contender Ringwood.
The Braves crushed Ringwood 109-74 at home, with Cassidy McLean producing one of her standout NBL1 games for Bendigo with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Madeline Sexton also made the most of her extended time on the court, contributing 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Reigning NBL1 MVP McKay delivered another double-double with 31 points and 13 rebounds.
Kasey Burton was a solid all-round performer with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists and Kelly Wilson followed up Saturday night's triple-double with eight points, eight rebounds and 13 assists.
The weekend's 1-1 split leaves the Braves women 6-1 and third on the ladder.
Meanwhile, the Braves men were unable to capitalise on their home double, losing both weekend games to fall to 3-4.
Playing without star guard Rowan Mackenzie (back) the Braves men on Saturday night were dealt a monster hiding from the visiting Sandringham, which crushed Bendigo by 50.
The Sabres thrashed Bendigo 111-61 in a game they led by 10 points at quarter-time, 23 at half-time and 47 at three quarter-time before the final margin of 50.
And on Sunday the Braves let go of an 11-point half-time lead against Ringwood to lose by 12.
The Braves had led 44-33 at half-time before Ringwood unleashed a 33-10 third quarter to grab control of the contest on the way to an 89-77 victory.
The Braves turned the ball over 43 times across the two games.
Import Andrew Robinson was the most consistent performer across the two games for Bendigo, combining for 33 points and 13 rebounds
