IT'S been a weekend of conflicting fortunes for the Bendigo Braves women's and men's NBL1 teams in Ballarat.
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Women's coach Megan Moody's defending champions continue to go from strength-to-strength after racking up a third straight win to the start the season with a 73-55 victory over the Rush on Saturday.
It followed a 72-54 win at Bendigo Stadium on Friday night against Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence (COE).
But for the men and new coach David Hogan there was disappointment, with the Braves falling to their arch-rival Ballarat Miners 86-94.
Paired with Friday night's loss to the COE, the Braves have slipped to 1-2 ahead of a crucial Saturday night contest against Kilsyth Cobras, who have started the season 2-0, in Melbourne.
On the positive side, the Braves look to have found themselves an exciting import in Deonte Burton, who scorched the Miners for 30 points, six assists and four rebounds, only days after his arrival in Bendigo from the United States and a stint in the NBA G League with Salt Lake City Stars.
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The 27-year-old point guard scored 11 points and had seven assists in his debut against the COE, after missing a round one win over Melbourne Tigers, but was one of the few Braves players able to find his rhythm early against Ballarat.
The Braves were made to pay a heavy price for a sluggish start when they trailed 30-15 at quarter time.
They were able to bridge the gap to three points at half time, but were narrowly outscored in each of the final two terms to lose by eight points.
Burton and fellow import Ray Turner (21 points, six rebounds) contributed nearly 60 per cent of the Braves' score, with veteran Chris Hogan the only other player to finish in double figures with 13 points.
No such problems for the Braves women, who continued their rich vein of form against the Rush to win by 18 points.
After missing Friday night's clash against the competition's young guns, Nadeen Payne returned to the line-up to score 15 points in 19 minutes.
Kelly Wilson continued her bright start with another 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, close to her season averages of 21 points, 6.5 rebounds and eight assists, while Gabe Richards (13 points, nine rebounds) and Tessa Lavey (13 points, seven rebounds) also made life difficult for the Rush.
The Braves took control of the contest in the second quarter with a 26-17 run, after trailing by one at quarter time.
They also finished strong with an 18-9 final term to seal a strong result.
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