NOT relief but belief.
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The Albury-Wodonga Lady Bandits broke through for their maiden win of the SEABL season on Saturday night but for coach Michael Brookens, the barnstorming 88-71 triumph over the Ballarat Rush was more inevitable than surprising.
A second-quarter blitz at the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre that saw the Border outfit score a remarkable 35 points was the catalyst for the Lady Bandits’ first win over Ballarat since August 2, 2009.
After taking a 52-41 lead into half-time, the Lady Bandits were never remotely threatened from there as they hauled themselves off the bottom of the East conference ladder.
“It feels really good, but moreso for the girls,” Brookens said.
“I always felt from the start that this is a different team, that the talent and capabilities were always there.
“We had really good energy to play great defence and we shot the lights out from really good, uncontested looks.
“I think Ballarat came in here a bit too overconfident, they were devastated after the game.”
A complete offensive effort saw four Lady Bandits players notch double-digit scoring, with forward Rachel Maenpaa showing just how valuable she can be when fully fit with a game-high 19 points.
She had plenty of support, with import Kristina Baltic enjoying her best game of the season, scoring 18 points and hauling down 12 rebounds, while Teyla Evans and Montana Farrah-Seaton added 17 and 13 points respectively.
Brookens was especially pleased with Maenpaa and Evans but saved his biggest praise for Baltic, who gave the Border club exactly what it was looking for - scoring, rebounding and elite frontcourt defence.
“Rachel played her natural small forward position and you could see her really enjoying that,” Brookens said.
“She’s taking her opportunity, her and Teyla got so many good looks.
“But I thought out biggest contributor was Kristina, she was just a beast.
“She loves playing here; she knew she had to step up and she really did, she showed so much leadership and really anchored the defence.”
In a welcome sign, a stingy Lady Bandits defence held the Rush to a miserly 34.2 per cent shooting night as the visitors misfired on 48 of their 73 attempts.
Abbey Wehrung top-scored with 18 points and Kristy Rinaldi added 12 points but there was precious little offensive help from there
With games against Hobart, Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence and a return bout against Geelong in the coming weeks, Brookens said he wanted the victories to become expected, rather than surprising.
“What the win does, it shows everyone the plan and the direction we want to take has merit,” Brookens said.
“It gives us belief in the system and what we’re trying to do.
“The players now know they have the keys to be successful.
“I thought I’d be happier about the win but honestly, hand on heart, I just really expected it to happen.
“I’d done everything I could do and I knew my confidence in my players wasn’t misguided.”