Rangers step up

A SPLIT road double was enough to lift Dandenong off the bottom of the SEABL East conference ladder on the weekend.
The Rangers began their western road trip with an 87-68 win over Mount Gambier on Friday night, but proved no match for a red-hot Bendigo on Sunday.
Vince Inglima played a virtual lone hand for the visitors against the Braves, scoring 21 points on four-of-eight from behind the three-point arc.
Only fellow American Luke Fitzgerald (12 points) provided any sustained assistance, while star forward Luke Meyer (20) was among four Braves to drop double-figure points on the afternoon.
Bendigo closed the game out with a 26-10 final term, sending the Rangers home on a sour note.
The weekend had started promisingly with a 31-point opening stanza against the Pioneers, earning them a 14-point cushion.
Strong outings from Inglima (18), Lucas Walker (16), Brent Hobba and Fitzgerald (both 15) made sure the visitors would not surrender their grip on the contest.
Dandenong, now 3-8 and sitting seventh in a closely-contested East conference, will face old foe Sandringham on Saturday night. The Sabres have won five on the trot and sit atop the South conference table. Meanwhile, Steph Cumming and Clare Papavs guided the Dandenong Lady Rangers to back-to-back victories in Tasmania on the weekend.
Cumming (26) and Papavs (18) were unstoppable in the Rangers’ 92-54 win in Hobart on Saturday night, before dropping 15 apiece in a 72-71 result against Launceston on Sunday.
Playing-coach Larissa Anderson had a night out against the Tornadoes, with 14 points and 15 boards.
Dandenong’s women will play Sandringham in the curtain-raiser on Saturday night, before backing up at Frankston on Sunday.