Right: Dandenong Rangers co-captain Sam Richards drives through the key and at the basket, leaving Bulleen Boomers Desiree Glaubitz and Sharon Milner in her wake.By Glen Atwell
CHRISTMAS will be merry for Gary Fox and his Dandenong Rangers after a stunning eight-point victory against the Bulleen Boomers on Friday night.
The 70-62 win kept the Rangers in Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) play-off contention and sent the 900-strong Dandenong Basketball Stadium crowd into hysteria.
The Rangers had trailed 51-44 at three quarter-time but embarked on 21-5 scoring frenzy in the last seven minutes to win the game and the prestigious Michele Timms Cup.
While staring defeat in the face, consecutive three-point baskets to Caitlin Ryan and Kathleen Macleod narrowed the lead before Alison Downie swished a long-bomb triple of her own to put the Rangers in front with minutes remaining.
Downie had played 11 minutes without scoring, but made the Bulleen defence pay the ultimate price for its slack marking outside the arc.
Fox held his nerve and was spot-on with his last-quarter substitutions, unfortunately the same could not be said for Cheryl Chambers and her Boomers.
Hollie Grima, Karen Ashby and Desiree Glaubitz all played more than of 35 minutes and were clearly fatigued halfway through the all-important final quarter.
Dandenong’s Sam Richards was back to her dominating best scoring 15 points, while co-captain Caitlin Ryan netted 15 points.
For Bulleen, Ashby was mostly unstoppable, and seemed to score every time she touched the ball.
Ashby finished with 23 points, but unfortunately for the Boomers she was the only player doing the scoring.
Grima, again restricted to single digits scoring seven points and collecting seven rebounds, was well held by Dandenong defender Emily McInerny.
McInerny has been rarely beaten this season and was named the WNBL Player of the Week for her effort against Grima.
The Rangers now take a break for Christmas and return to the court on 5 January for a Friday night game away game against the AIS in Canberra.
