A 50-POINT barrage from star shooter Amy Atwell wasn't enough for the Bendigo Braves women to beat Knox in their NBL1 clash on Saturday night.
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Atwell delivered one of the greatest offensive performances in Braves' women history with her 50-point haul in the 87-85 loss to the Raiders at the Knox Basketball Stadium.
Atwell's 50-point outing came on the back of the 25-year-old earlier in the week being named in the Australian Opals squad to play Japan in a pair of games this Thursday and Friday in Tokyo in the Mitsui Fudosan Cup.
Atwell shot a brilliant 14-of-18 on two-point field attempts (28 points), while she went 5-of-17 from three-point range (15 points) and made 7-of-8 free throws.
Atwell's 50 points topped her previous best scoring game for the Braves when she had 44 points against Northside during last year's NBL1 national finals.
Bendigo had led by a game-high 11 points (58-47) during the third quarter, but the Braves' advantage was trimmed back to four heading into the final term.
In what was a thrilling final quarter scores were level 85 apiece with one minute to play after Alex Wilson nailed a three-pointer for the Braves - her first points for the game - in what would be Bendigo's final basket of the match.
Knox scored the final two points of the game through two free throws made by Emily Fisher.
Atwell had the final shot of the game, launching from half court on the buzzer.
Atwell's breakdown of her 50 points featured 14 in the first quarter, 13 in the second, 17 in the third and six in the last, with Knox locking down on her defensively late in the contest, keeping her scoreless over the final 4:38.
Atwell played all 40 minutes with her stat sheet reading not only 50 points, but 11 rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.
For the fourth time in her past six games Kelly Wilson also spent all 40 minutes on court for the Braves, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The defending champion Braves women are now 10-6 and in a fight with Mount Gambier (10-5), Dandenong (10-6) and Ringwood (9-8) for fourth spot and the double chance.
Meanwhile, the Bendigo Braves men suffered their third loss in a row with a 97-72 defeat to Knox.
Knox got the jump on Bendigo, leading 30-21 at quarter-time and never surrendered the advantage for the rest of the game, with the Raiders' lead getting out to as many as 31 points during the final term.
The Raiders dominated Bendigo on the boards, winning the rebound count 43-27.
Mitch Clarke was Bendigo's standout performer with 18 points, 10 assists and six rebounds.
Bendigo is now 6-10 with six games remaining in the season, beginning next Saturday at home against Keilor.
