The Otago Gold Rush won three of its five matches during the second leg of the Women's Basketball Championship in Auckland at the weekend.
Otago opened with a loss to the Waikato Wizards on Friday night but had two wins on Saturday, dispatching the Rotorua Lady Vols 66-32 and getting one over old enemy the Harbour Breeze 62-49.
Tall Ferns guard Samara Gallaher had a huge game against the Breeze, collecting 25 points and 17 rebounds.
She also had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds against the Lady Vols.
The Gold Rush had a setback yesterday morning, losing 63-52 to the Auckland-Counties Lady Hawks.
Suzie Bates top-scored with 12 points but Kalani Purcell posted 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to help the Lady Hawks prevail.
Natalie Taylor was also influential with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
The team bounced back to record a comprehensive 70-39 win against the Capital Flyers in the afternoon game.
Gallaher top-scored with 20 points and Bates added 18.
The finals are in Porirua next month.
