Despite the absence of leading scorer Tess Madgen because of Opals' commitments, the Braves women thrashed Hobart 87-72 on Friday night and backed up with a hard-fought 73-66 win over fellow title contender Launceston on Saturday night.

The Braves' depth proved to be decisive, particularly in the win over Launceston.

Friday's night's victory over Hobart was set up by WNBL trio Abbey Wehrung, Kelly Wilson and Meg McKay.

After trailing by eight points at quarter-time, the Braves took over thanks to Wehrung (29 points on 12-19 shooting), Wilson (21 points and 12 assists) and McKay (23 points and 12 rebounds).

The game was still in the balance at three quarter-time, but the Braves dominated the final term 87-72.

In Saturday night's win over the Tornadoes, the Braves went into battle against a Bendigo basketball favourite - Kelsey Griffin.

The former Bendigo Spirit star scored 17 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for a Launceston side that was without Opals' representative Keely Froling.

Read more: Catch up on the latest local sport news

The difference between the two teams was depth, with the Braves having five players score in double figures.

Maddie Sexton took advantage of the opportunity to play in the starting five and scored an invaluable 15 points.

McKay led the way with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Wilson (14 points), Cassidy McLean (14 points) and Wehrung (12 points) chipped in a fine team performance that lifted the Braves to second place on the ladder.

Meanwhile, it was a mixed weekend in Tasmania for the Braves' men's team.

On Friday night, the Braves were unlucky to lose to Hobart 77-73.

The Braves led 70-68 with 1:55 to play before Hobart scored nine points from the free throw line in the final two minutes.

The Braves had leading scorer Kuany Kuany (20 points) foul out with one minute remaining.

The Braves had a poor perimeter shooting night. They were 7-29 from behind the three-point arc, with import Malcolm Bernard 3-13 in his 17 points.

A major factor in the outcome - Hobart had 35 free throw attempts to Bendigo's 17.

The Braves bounced back on Saturday night to upset North West Tasmania 69-60.

In a low-scoring contest, the Braves produced a brilliant 28-14 final term to run over the top of the home side.

Kuany (22 points), Mitch Clarke (15 points), Bernard (13 points) and centre Sidy Mohamed Djitte (12 points and 15 rebounds) did the damage for the Braves.

The Braves' three-point shooting was poor again - 6-26 at 23.08 per cent - but compared to Friday night they had a better run with the whistle.

The Braves were 17-26 from the fgree throw line to NW Tasmania's 6-13.

The Braves are back on their home court next Saturday for men's and women's matches against the Ringwood Hawks.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: