Above: So close, yet so far … Caitlin Ryan (right) and Jacinta Hamilton (left) ride an emotional rollercoaster after the Dandenong Rangers lost the Women’s National Basketball League grand final against the Canberra Capitals on Saturday.By Glen Atwell
THE world’s best woman basketballer single-handedly foiled the Dandenong Rangers’ quest for a three-peat of Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) championships at the Dandenong Basketball Stadium on Saturday.
Lauren Jackson led the Canberra Capitals to a 68-55 grand final victory in front of a 2200 strong sellout crowd.
Jackson was unstoppable for most of the match and, despite being scoreless in the third quarter, emerged with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds.
It was an individual effort that undoubtedly swung the match the Capitals’ way and landed Jackson the most valuable player award.
Dandenong Rangers Jacinta Hamilton and Emily McInerney were given the defensive role but could hardly contain the 196-centimetre forward, who combines strength, speed and the attitude to win at any cost.
Rangers co-captain Carly Wilson top-scored for Dandenong with 17 points alongside Caitlin Ryan, who netted two inspirational three-point shots late in the game.
But the Rangers’ poor field accuracy (33 per cent) was a crucial statistic, as the once-unstoppable team lacked the regular hoard of contributors that propelled them to WNBL championship glory for the past two years.
Trailing by 14 points at half-time, the game was almost out of their reach, but the Rangers returned to the court inspired and outscored the Capitals 11-2 in the first half of the third quarter.
The margin was reduced to five points (39-34), before a Canberra timeout stemmed the momentum and allowed the Capitals to steady the ship and lead by eight points at three-quarter time.
Caitlin Ryan stepped up with 10 last-quarter points, but important baskets by Jenny Whittle, Kellie Abrams and Jackson sealed the win and unhinged the Rangers plans to etch their name into WNBL history.
Coach Gary Fox said Jackson was “a heck of a player” and was always going to score points, but admitted a number of things didn’t work on the big day.
“Our bigs didn’t have great games today, that made it harder on the littles to penetrate and get to the basket.
“We struggled to create enough offensive momentum, we probably had three real contributors.
“Carly (Wilson), Caitlin (Ryan) and Sam (Richards) did some good things offensively, but we didn’t have enough contributors at that end,” Fox said.
“I’m disappointed, but we handle things with class when we win and I think we ought to handle things with class when we lose.
“You come this far, get to a grand final, you want to win.
“We don’t play games to lose,” Fox said.
Jackson beamed relief after game, describing the victory as her greatest championship win, but said the road to glory had been full of twists and turns.
“Before Christmas I didn’t even know if I’d be playing again, I didn’t know if I was going back to the WNBA or anything, it was a rocky time for me.
“Dandenong are an experienced side, but every time they hit a big shot, we took it back down and hit a big one back,” Jackson said.
The epic grand final should have been closely contested, but the Canberra Capitals were clearly the better team on the day.
Until next season, the Rangers will stare at the drawing board and reflect on the title that got away and wonder if any defender, or any team for that matter, can stop Jackson from stealing a championship that was so close.
