Left: Dandenong captain Caitlin Ryan sank the game-winning jumper in the Rangers’ 60-58 defeat of Townsville on Sunday.By Paul Pickering
IF the Dandenong Rangers are to reflect fondly on the 2007-08 season, it may be one shot from skipper Caitlin Ryan that is remembered as the catalyst for a surge towards finals glory.
With her team facing a 58-58 deadlock in the last minute of its crucial clash against the Townsville Fire on Sunday, Ryan seemed the only person at Dandenong Stadium who knew what would happen next.
As the game clock ticked down to 15 seconds, the skipper shook her defender with a crossover dribble, rounded a screen from Michelle Brogan and pulled up at the foul line to drain the game-winning score.
And while the Dandenong faithful have seen it all before from the lead Ranger, the home crowd’s response proved it understood how important that shot would be in the context of the team’s season.
The 60-58 win saw the Rangers’ record improve to 7-7, replacing the Fire in fifth spot on the Women’s National Basketball League table and moving within one win of the top four.
As Ryan said after the game, Dandenong has managed to negotiate its way through a rocky start to the season and now seems poised to pounce on a finals berth in the new year.
“It’s becoming a bit of a trademark of ours that we’re doing it the hard way this year,” she said, referring to a near-fatal final term lapse that saw the Rangers squander a 10-point lead.
But coach Dale Waters was keen to focus on the positives of a well-earned victory.
“Our own errors let them back into the game, but if you go back a month – the way we were playing then – we probably would’ve lost that game,” he said.
“The good thing is that when the chips are down we’re starting to respond now.
“The pressure was on to perform and for them to hang tough like that was really good for us.”
After holding a narrow lead for much of the first three quarters, the Rangers went cold midway through the fourth to give the Fire a sniff.
And despite being well held throughout the match, Townsville MVP candidate Rohanee Cox (15 points, eight rebounds) converted two clutch free-throws to square the ledger in dying moments.
Again, it was the Rangers’ swarming defence that frustrated Cox and co, with only Fire pivot Jennifer Crouse (18, 8) managing to expose Dandenong inside.
Offensively, it was as even a performance as the Dandenong crowd has witnessed this season.
Michelle Brogan scored the vast majority of her 15 points at crucial junctures of the match, but Ryan was the only other Ranger in double figures.
Meanwhile, with young gun Chantella Perera (6) in early foul trouble, crowd favourite Alison Downie (7, one steal) capitalised on increased minutes to make a lively cameo appearance.
“We’re certainly starting to create a bit of depth for ourselves,” Waters said after the game.
“So if someone’s having an off night, someone else can step up.”
There is no doubt the prospect of Perera and Larissa Anderson coming off the bench – as they did on Sunday – will be a daunting prospect for the Rangers’ rivals in the second half of the season.
In fact, as the Star went to print on Wednesday afternoon, Dandenong was preparing to host the Australian Institute of Sport (5-9) in its final fixture for the year.
With the chance of a positive win-loss ratio for the first time this season, the Rangers will surely show no mercy on returning Dandenong juniors Stephanie Cumming, Elizabeth Cambage and Alice Kunek.
By Waters’ reckoning, the revamped Rangers are tracking nicely for a finals berth.
“It may be the case that we might even sneak in for a third spot,” he said.
“It just depends how things go – it’s so even.”
Dandenong’s first game of the new year will be a 5 January clash with league leader Adelaide in Mount Gambier.
