Gold Rush winning streak continues
THE Otago Gold Rush has carried on its good form, extending its winning streak to three games.
It beat the Canterbury Wildcats 7467 in Christchurch on Saturday night, moving to four wins from six matches.
Natalie Visger and Dana Goularte proved a dominant duo, helping the Gold Rush get off to a strong start.
They combined for 14 points as the side streaked out to a 2314 lead at the end of the first quarter.
That was extended to 3823 at halftime, the Gold Rush defence proving tough to break down and Canterbury struggling to score.
However, the Wildcats mounted a comeback as their offence began to click.
A big third quarter from Connie Poletti brought the score back to 5343.
That momentum kept going into the fourth quarter, as Poletti continued to pull Canterbury closer, until a Tessa StewartMorrison threepointer tied things up at 6060.
Soraya UmagaJensen responded with a threepointer to put the Gold Rush back up three, before Goularte scored to extend that lead to five.
Visger drained two free throws with a minute and ahalf to play to make it 6760 and from there the Gold Rush showed composure to close the game out.
It was a dominant night for Visger, who finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds.
Goularte had 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Nicole Ruske and UmagaJensen had 10 points each.
For Canterbury, Poletti had 25 points and 11 rebounds.
The win leaves the Gold Rush wellplaced heading into its final regularseason game on Friday night against the Taranaki Thunder in Dunedin.