A mammoth haul from Tyler Mitchell has set Varsity back on its winning track.
The guard poured in 33 points to guide her team to a 72-53 win over the Andy Bay Falcons Tahi in Dunedin women’s club basketball on Tuesday night.
Mitchell hit five three-pointers, while also getting to the hoop in transition to torch the Falcons.
It was the second-biggest scoring night of the past three seasons — Annabelle Ring put up 36 points on opening night last year — and only the fourth 30-point display in that time.
Despite her dominance, the Falcons hung around for a large part of the game.
Little separated the teams throughout the first half.
Mitchell got Varsity going from deep early, but Annabelle Ring (12 points) responded with a pair of three-pointers of her own.
Brittany Richards (10 points) also kept the Falcons going, while Holly McCleery (11 points) provided Varsity with a second source of points.
Varsity led 33-31 at halftime, a gap that closed to 37-36 midway through the third quarter.
At that point, Varsity began getting stops, holding the Falcons to just three points for the rest of the third quarter.
It made use of that to attack in transition, while also getting to the line to open a 54-39 lead at the end of the quarter.
The Falcons stemmed the bleeding after the break, but could not pull back the deficit.
Fay Fualau-Searle had 24 points as the South Pac Magic beat the Andy Bay Falcons Rua 72-51.
The Magic led 24-22 midway through the second quarter, but pulled away in the second half for a fourth consecutive win.
Hannah Beede had 27 points as Ajax beat Varsity Gold 69-27.
