Rangers fight back

By Paul Pickering
STATEMENTS don’t come much clearer than the one made by Dandenong in the WNBL’s game-of-the-round on Saturday.
The Rangers, having dropped both games on their Queensland road trip the previous weekend, let everyone know that was an aberration by exacting revenge on Logan Thunder in a 99-63 caning at Stud Road.
Responding brilliantly to a brutal week on the training court, Dandenong delivered the hottest shooting display of the season so far to blow the Thunder away after quarter-time.
Bishop (26 points), Kath MacLeod (19) and Steph Cumming (19) led the way as the Rangers connected on 54 per cent of their field-goal attempts – including 10-of-20 from behind the arc – for the afternoon.
Their points tally and winning margin were both new highs in the league this season, while the score-line represented a 48-point turnaround from the loss to Logan just eight days earlier.
It was a stunning performance, watched by an excited home crowd and live TV audience in the club’s first televised game of the season.
Coach Mark Wright last week lamented his side’s lack of determination, but had no such problems on Saturday.
“It was the hardest week of training since they’ve all been together,” he revealed.
“They certainly earned their stripes last week and worked very hard, and it came through in the game.
“That’s the most pleasing thing, and I think they were pretty satisfied with the result, knowing they’d worked so hard for it.”
The Rangers led 32-26 after a high-scoring opening term, before ramping up the defence to concede just 37 points for the remaining three quarters. Renae Camino led the Thunder with 19 points, but shot just seven-of-18 from the field.
That defence impressed Wright almost as much as the red-hot shooting form.
“This team is very capable of that,” he said of the offensive explosion.
“I’d like to say it was going to happen every week. It probably won’t, but hopefully it becomes more often than not.”
Dandenong, now sitting second on the ladder with a 5-2 record, will host the 1-4 Adelaide Lightning on Saturday night.