Western cruise past rivals

Western have put everyone on notice in the Lois Muir Challenge after three dominant wins at Auckland over the weekend.

They hit the ground running on Saturday and cruised past Bay of Plenty 61-47, then dispatched Auckland-Waitakere 64-43.

Yesterday, Western made short work of North 62-52, but despite winning by 10 goals, Western captain Lauren Burgess said it was the tough workout they needed.

"It was good because our last game was quite hard," she said yesterday.

"We only just managed to win that so I think it brought us back to reality.

"It was an awesome weekend with three wins."

Western now have a three-week break, before playing Cook Strait and Canterbury the weekend after Easter.

Burgess said the team had the right mix this season to improve on their third-place effort last year.

"I think a lot of us are quite familiar with each other.

"Everyone put their hand up this weekend."

After the weekend of April 10 and 11, the competition's final games will be played in Palmerston North on April 17 and 18.

Burgess said Otago looked to be one of the teams to beat this year. Western will have plenty of time to prepare for that clash, as it is their final round-robin game.

Results: Western 61 BOP 47, Western 64 Auckland-Waitakere 43, Western 62 North 52

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