By Marcus Uhe
The gloss of Dandenong’s opening night win in the new NBL1 season has been quickly wiped, after they were thrashed by Kilsyth on Thursday night.
A fighting final quarter from Samantha Woosman’s side restored some respectability to the scoreboard after the margin ballooned to 34 late in the third quarter, for a final score of 93-78 in the Cobras’ favour.
Kilsyth put a gap between the two sides late in the first quarter, taking a 31-12 lead into the first break and not looking back as they found open men with ease, breaking apart the Rangers’ defence.
The margin was extended at every break, leading to a 31-point differential after three quarters.
Highlights were few and far between for the visitors, but Deng Puoch did his best to lift the spirits of his side, throwing down a two-handed reverse dunk after stealing an inbound pass and taking the ball the length of the floor.
A three-point shooting barrage from Harrison Bowater made the contest interesting in the last quarter and helped cut the margin to 11, but Kilsyth were able to steady and hold-on for the win.
Bowater top-scored for the Rangers with 21 points off the bench, having shot 6-8 from the three point line.
They’ll welcome both Hobart and Diamond Valley to Dandenong Basketball Stadium next week in a weekend back-to-back, with Hobart on Saturday and Diamond Valley on Sunday.
