Tamworth Thunderbolts celebrated a winning double at venues 200km apart on Saturday night.
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The Bolts men’s team stretched their record to 5-0 courtesy of a 78-70 away triumph at Newcastle.
Down the road an extra couple of hours, it was a noteworthy night for the Bolts women’s team, who emphatically dispatched Hawkesbury 59-29.
The win was the first under new coach Brad Melton, with the American full of praise for his side post-match.
“You certainly enjoy it (winning), when you drive 900km to get it,” Melton said.
“It was a really good win for us.
“I know Hawkesbury are not one of the top teams, but we were missing two of our key post players in Rachel Laws and Sara Westman, and still won by 30 points.”
Taylor Skelton played a starring role with 25 points and was ably supported by Lily Darcy (15) as six different Tamworth players got on the scoresheet.
“We took the chance to get everybody on the floor and they’ll benefit from those minutes,” he said.
Melton, in his first season at the helm, said the interrupted start to the season, where the women’s team has played just two matches, compared to the men’s five, had allowed him some breathing space.
“We played and then had two or three weeks without a game, which has given us time to work on things (at practice),” he said.
Bolts men’s coach John Ireland was also a happy man on Sunday after the eight-point road triumph.
“We’ve often had trouble with Newcastle on their home court and it’s probably been four or five years since we’ve walked away with a victory,” Ireland said.
“We started the game well, which has been our downfall through the years and despite them coming back into the game, we responded again in the third and fourth quarters.”
Captain Justin Leehy and American ace Kyle Gupton shared the honour of top-scorer for Tamworth, each nailing 16 points.
Again the spread of points throughout the Bolts roster was a feature as 10 different players scored, much to Ireland’s delight.
“Justin stepped up and played an important role in the small-forward role, while Matt Monckton (12 points) came off the bench to provide us with some spark and Jayden Pryer is another who is growing in confidence.”