By Nick Creely
It was perhaps the perfect finale to a milestone day for the Dandenong Rangers, with a thrilling overtime victory over cross-town rivals Melbourne Boomers.
Celebrating their 25-year anniversary as a club in front of a packed home crowd, including some of the Rangers’ most renowned players at Dandenong Stadium, the two teams thrilled, with the Rangers producing some magic late in the fourth-quarter to level the scores despite a slow start.
With club legend Penny Taylor watching on, the Rangers lifted when it truly mattered, with the crowd and presence of club legends spurring them on.
Down 56-51 with under a minute left on the clock, the Rangers, trying to consolidate their position on the top of the ladder, found some inspiration through star import Natalie Novosel, as she shot a three-pointer that allowed the Rangers to draw level at the final buzzer.
In the extra session, the Rangers were simply stunning, scoring 17-5 and eventually 22-5 to pinch a season-defining victory.
Alongside Novosel’s late heroics, she scored 18 points and dished off three assists, Ally Malott starred on the boards, scoring 24 points and eight rebounds.
More impressively, Malott shot 10-of-15 from the field and 4-of-6 from the three-point line.
Sara Blicavs and Steph Cumming were once again prominent in the match, scoring double-digits.
But it was a truly slow start for the home side, and at one stage the Boomers led 0-9, before some much needed defensive prose allowed the Rangers to utilize their strong attacking game.
Rangers coach Larissa Anderson was pleased with the result, but was still frustrated with certain elements of her team’s game.
“I’m super proud of the girls and how they held on there – they never give up,” she said.
“Teams are starting to lift against us, and we have just been a little rattled, a little rusty after the break, so hopefully that shows the girls why they’re in this position and gives them a bit of confidence moving forward.
“There were so many uncharacteristic mistakes again tonight, but they came through – credit to the girls they executed beautifully after the time-out.
“Hopefully we can march forward and find that momentum once again.
“As stressful as that was, what a phenomenal crowd on a huge occasion for the club, and it was so nice to have so many past players and sponsors here.”
With top-spot consolidated, the Rangers travel to Adelaide next Saturday night to tackle the Lightning, as they look to gather some more momentum.
