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ARCH-RIVALS Ballarat snapped the Bendigo Braves' women's six-game winning streak in their NBL1 clash at the Bendigo Stadium on Sunday.
Backing up from their overtime win against Geelong on Saturday night, the Braves were beaten 78-70 by the Rush.
The Rush obliterated the Braves on the glass, winning the rebound count 58-34, with the trio of Alicia Froling (14), Kristi Rinaldi (11) and Jasmine Simmons (10) combining for 35 between them.
The Rush's 58 rebounds included 18 offensive boards.
As well as their rebounding dominance, the Rush gained control of the contest through the middle of the game, outscoring Bendigo 46-29 across the second and third quarters on the way to just their third win over the Braves in their past 18 encounters dating back to 2011.
For the Braves, Abbey Wehrung nailed four three-pointers in her game-high tally of 25 points, while she also dished out four assists.
It was Wehrung's fourth game in a row with 20-plus points, while Cassidy McLean contributed 14 points and forward Kate Oliver scored 11.
Meanwhile, in their first game for 21 days on Saturday night following the second season standstill, the Braves rallied from a nine-point half-time deficit to record a 98-90 road win over Geelong.
The overtime win was highlighted by three dominant performances from Oliver, Kelly Wilson and Wehrung, who combined for 81 of Bendigo's 98 points.
In just her third game since re-starting her career Wilson was enormous, with the 36-year-old guard playing all 45 minutes and falling just shy of a triple-double with 32 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Oliver posted her seventh double-double of the season with 29 points and 14 rebounds, as well as four blocked shots, while Wehrung produced a solid all-round game with 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
The Braves trailed 46-37 at half-time before scores were tied 87-87 at the final buzzer
Geelong led 87-83 with 1:05 remaining, before Wilson scored the final four points for Bendigo, including a pair of free throws with 25 seconds left, to send the game into overtime.
The five-minute overtime period was all one-way traffic, with Bendigo outscoring the Supercats 11-3 to clinch a gritty victory against a Geelong side that had Stephanie Blicavs dominate with 32 points.
The weekend's 1-1 split leaves the Braves with an 11-3 record ahead of another away-then-home double-header next weekend.
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