By JARROD POTTER
RESCUING another win from the jaws of defeat, Dandenong overcame a 10-point deficit late in the last quarter to storm home and clinch an 84-81 win over Townsville Fire.
Dandenong was forced to play an outside game – heavily leaning on O’Hea (22pts, 4/9 3PM), Leilani Mitchell (13pts, 3/5 3PM) and Alice Kunek (24pts, 5/8 3PM), with the latter clinching the match-winning trey in a nail biter.
Hitting their shots with the pressure of a national audience tuning in – to watch them live -Dandenong starred in the final term – shooting 5/11 from beyond the arc to get the job done.
In the last minute of a back-and-forth final term, Kunek took the long-ranger with barely anything left on the shot clock to push the lead out to three.
The Fire charged up the court, but strong defence from Rosie Moult caused Michaela Cocks’ Hail-Mary shot to miss and when Moult took the steal off a Kayla Standish pass to Suzy Batkovic, the Rangers bench roared with joy, knowing the match was theirs as Townsville was left to foul out the dying seconds.
Dandenong and Townsville traded offensive blows at will – defensively neither team really stepped up until the last quarter, when Dandenong clamped down with Mitchell and O’Hea generating crucial steals and transition baskets.
The battle of the day was waged between former Ranger Steph Cumming and Dandenong spearhead Jenna O’Hea – with the battle neck and neck until the last quarter when O’Hea launched a pair of match-defining three-pointers.
“We managed to pull it out as we played some serious defence in the last quarter,” Dandenong coach Mark Wright said.
“Some seriously appropriate defence in the last quarter that allowed us to get some transition baskets and not get everything from the three-point line, but we’ve got some dangerous shooters and we’re always going to be in the game
“When you can shoot threes like that, you’re never really out of the game. We did lean on our three-point shooters a lot, but they’re very confident and I’m not going to restrict them from shooting what we consider open shots.”
Mitchell’s impact, not only hitting the outside shots herself, but setting up her team mates with 11 assists, including a magnificent pick-and-roll to set up Kayla Pedersen (10pts, seven rebounds) was scintillating and Wright said it was indicative of her talent and the reason she was recruited by the Rangers.
“That’s fantastic isn’t it, I’m happy with that (the double-double),” Wright said.
“It’s not just that, but it’s her control and her defence and the steals she gets and the pressure she puts on the other guards.
“She’s an all-round great player and we knew that before we got her.”
Dandenong head to the State Basketball Centre on Friday night for the first cross-town clash against the newly rebranded Melbourne Boomers, with the tip-off at 7.30pm.
