Rangers plan to do it for Macca

By Paul Pickering
‘DO it for Macca’ could be the motto that halts Dandenong’s slide down the Women’s National Basketball League ladder this weekend.
The out-of-form Rangers will be looking to rally around club stalwart and long-time Opal Emily McInerny in her 300th game against Bendigo at Stud Road on Saturday night.
And if ever the Rangers needed her inspirational leadership, it’s now.
Dandenong suffered its sixth-straight loss in succumbing to cross-town rival Bulleen 70-56 at the Veneto Club last Saturday, slumping to 5-9 for the season and two games outside the playoff bracket.
Rangers coach Dale Waters was left with little option but to adopt a ‘small ball’ strategy against the Boomers after his star import Jenni Benningfield fractured an eye socket in a training mishap.
Benningfield copped an accidental poke in the eye while battling back-up point guard Amelia Todhunter for a loose ball last week.
Her absence left the already under-sized Rangers vulnerable to a Bulleen frontline that includes Shelley Hammonds and Elyse Penaluna.
To their credit, Waters’ “mosquito fleet” came out buzzing in a frantic first term, surging to a 17-8 advantage at quarter-time.
But the intensity didn’t last, with Bulleen taking the lead midway through the term on the back of a 12-0 run.
From there the playoff-bound Boomers were never headed.
The only challenge came in the third term when the Rangers reduced the margin to 11, but another lapse saw the gap widen to 20 at the last break.
Dandenong’s makeshift frontline was always going to struggle with the likes of Penaluna (14, 5) and Hammonds (11, 5), but it was the impact of Boomer forwards Katrina Hibbert (11, 8) and Zoe Carr (11, 6) off the bench that hurt the visitors most.
Ranger forward Caitlin Cunningham (9, 6, three blocks) enjoyed extended minutes in the absence of Benningfield, but she couldn’t replace the American’s presence in the key.
Meanwhile, Dandenong guards Nicole Hunt (10) and Caitlin Ryan (9, 5) had serviceable games but couldn’t provide the perimeter punch needed to orchestrate an upset. Rangers coach Dale Waters was again left to ponder a sporadic performance from his charges.
“The first quarter was one of our best of the season, we just ran them off their feet,” he reflected.
“But it comes down to the inability to execute for the full 40 minutes and minimise those lapses in concentration that we have sometimes.
“Clearly we’re very competitive with the best teams in the competition, but we’ve got to have that consistency of effort. And we have to continue to push the ball up the floor and generate more fast-break points to build some scoreboard pressure.”
With eight games left in the season, Dandenong will have to overhaul both Sydney Uni (7-8) and Bendigo (7-7) to secure the fifth and final playoff berth.
Waters believes his team will have to win at least six of those remaining games to snare fifth spot.
Benningfield is “highly unlikely” to play against the Spirit on Saturday night, so the Rangers may have to rely on a wave of emotion on Macca’s big night.
Tip-off is at the revised time of 5pm, with a tribute dinner to follow from 7.30pm.