Bendigo Women begin where they left off

It took the Champions IGA Bendigo Braves Women less than four minutes into their opening game of the year to show the rest of the NBL1 South and National competitions they’ll be a big threat again this season.

Bendigo was down 2-7 in the first of their two Round-One games at Ballarat on Wednesday night, but from then on were never headed, racking up a comprehensive win against the Miners.

They followed it up on Saturday night with a comfortable win against last year’s runners up, Waverley. 

Two runs of 15-0 and 13-2 in the first half against Ballarat saw Bendigo lead 46-28 at the main break, with the usual suspects of Amy Atwell, Kelly Wilson, Meg McKay, Cassidy McLean, and Kasey Burton dominating.

Superstar recruit Alex Wilson joined the fab five for a high-quality performance in her first game in the blue and gold, the Braves running out winners 88-46.

Atwell (25 points, six steals, five blocks), McKay (21 points,13 rebounds), McLean (14 points, four assists) Kelly Wilson (nine points, seven assists), Alex Wilson (12 points) and Burton (12 rebounds) all kept the scorer’s bench very busy.

19 to two fast-break points and 19 to seven points from turnovers highlighted the Braves’ dominance.

That dominance continued Saturday night at Red Energy Arena, with Bendigo beating the Falcons 92-67 in the 2023 NBL1 South Grand Final replay.

A 14-3 start was only a hint of what was to come, with Bendigo’s defense stifling Waverley from minute one.

Stats such as 15 steals to seven, 16-0 fast break points, and 18-2 points from turnovers highlighted the focus Mark Alabakov has for his team this season.

“Turning defense into attack is at the heart of what we do. We know that five people can work as one on our defensive end,” he said.

“We want to continue to push the ball and force the tempo. We want to be able to wear teams down with pace of play.”

Alabakov was also pleased with the spread of scorers in both games. Against Waverley, Atwell (22) Alex Wilson (19), McKay (12), and McLean (11), all finished in double figures, with Kelly Wilson and Jessica Mangan ending the game with nine.

“Sharing the scoring load is really important to the way we play, and we averaged 90 points for the two games,” he said.

“It was great to see Jess Mangan make the most of her opportunity on Saturday.

“She had a great CBL season, where she really worked on finishing, she screens really well, and only releases her position to get the possession.

“But we are still a work in progress in offence and looking to get a little more in-synch in the half court.”

Photo Credit: Craig Dilks Photography