Mixed weekend for Braves in NBL1 South opening round

The men's and women's teams combined for a 1-3 record in away games at the Keilor Thunder and Waverley Falcons.

The women, playing without key guard Tess Madgen, produced the only win for the weekend - a comfortable 84-66 victory over Keilor on Saturday night.

The highlight was the stunning offensive performance from centre Meg McKay, who scored 29 points on 14-15 shooting.

Kelly Wilson had 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, while Cassidy McLean and Abbey Wehryng had 16 and 13 points respectively.

On Sunday, the women went down to Waverley 70-65. Wilson was the standout with 22 points.

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The men, who didn't have a full squad available, opened the 2022 campaign with a 81-62 loss to Keilor and a narrow 76-74 defeat to Waverley.

The Braves led by three at half-time against Keilor, but only scored 19 points in the entire second-half.

In Sunday's game, the Braves led by five points midway through the final quarter, but could only score two more points for the match and the Falcons took the lead with a dunk with 30 seconds to play.

Luke Rosendale scored 20 points and 16 points in the two games to be the Braves' best player for the weekend.

Other encouraging performances came from new import Malcom Bernard (18 points against Keilor, 14 points against Waverley) and Dylan McCauley (14 points against Waverley).

The Braves play their first home games of the season against Geelong next Sunday at Bendigo Stadium.

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