TAMWORTH Thunderbolts men shone after the Thunderbolt women suffered injury and bad luck in contrasting Waratah State League matches at Tamworth Sports Dome on Saturday night.
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The Chris Tudman-coached Thunderbolt women started the double header with an 86-57 loss to the Newcastle Hunters before the John Ireland-coached men demolished the Central Coast Waves 116-54.
While the Thunderbolt men were lightning sharp in a 62-point storming of the Waves, the Thunderbolt women were frustrated.
“We were right in that game,” Chris Tudman said.
“We were only down by a few at half time but we copped a couple of head injuries. One of the girls hit her head hard on the floor and another copped an elbow. Then Emily (skipper Emily Bailey) did an ankle and didn’t play the last three or four minutes.
“It was one of those nights. We played extremely well but nothing went right.”
Balls continued to lip out for the side in a frustrating run of bad luck.
The Thunderbolt women used up all the ill-luck though as the men responded to a defensive focus at training to score at both ends in the big win over Central Coast Waves.
With teenage guard Max Chillingworth (32) and US import Kyle Gupton (31) leading the way the Thunderbolts crushed the Waves 116-54 in one of their best efforts.
“It was a four quarter performance,” coach John Ireland told The Leader.
“Everybody made good contributions too.
“We shot the ball very well but it all started at the defensive end. That’s been our focus, if we play good defence then the offence will happen.”
That’s what happened Saturday night as the Waves struggled to cope with the speed of the Thunderbolts as they moved the ball up and down the court with some brilliant transfers.
