THE NBL1 South Women’s competition may have wrapped the regular season for the 2023 fixture over the weekend, but there was no shortage of action as Megan McKay led the Bendigo Braves past the Ballarat Miners.

The match took place at Red Energy Arena in Bendigo on Saturday night, but was a bit of a dead rubber given the form and ladder-placing by the end of the 2023 season. The Braves came into the match remarkably unbeaten after 20 matches, and had fully cemented themselves as the championship favourites heading into the finals. On the other hand, the Miners had managed just the three wins on the eve of the fixture’s conclusion, and came in as heavy underdogs.

The Braves established their dominance in the opening quarter, heading into the first change with a comfortable lead on the scoreboard up 12. Although Ballarat’s defence was much stronger in the second term, its offence could not deliver the same productivity, and the visitors still trailed by double-digits at the main break. Bendigo further strengthened its scoreboard advantage with another strong third quarter performance, and although the Miners delivered their best performance in the final 10 minutes, it was too little, too late as the home side cruised home to a 16-point win.

McKay saved one of her best performances of the season for last, dominating the Miners in as strong a showing as was seen all round.

Bendigo Braves (91) def. Ballarat Miners (75)

Megan McKay – 35 points, 17 rebounds, five assists

McKay was an undeniable presence in the Braves’ 21st win of the season, putting her stamp on the contest about as well as she could have.

An old-school two-point scorer, McKay registered the most points with 35 for the match, courtesy of some accurate shooting. She nailed 14 shots on just 21 attempts, all of which came from inside the arc. McKay was ruthless in the low block, putting plenty of pressure on the rim and towering over the opposition with ease.

She delivered another game-high total in the rebounding column, pulling down 17 for the match. Remarkably, 11 of these came on the offensive end, and had a fair say in getting her points total up as well with some putbacks proving to be high-percentage shots.

As expected, McKay drew plenty of double-teams due to her success scoring the ball, but the 26-year-old was smart and skilled enough to find her teammates wide open and helping the Braves’ offence continue to tick over.

McKay will play a huge role in Bendigo’s upcoming finals campaign, a fact which was emphasised by her powerful performances in the final round.