Rangers import fires in thriller

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG import Jenni Benningfield scored 22 points on debut against Bendigo on Friday night, but it wasn’t enough to spoil Kristi Harrower’s homecoming party.
The Australian Opals point guard dropped 34 points on the Rangers in her WNBL return, leading the Spirit to a dramatic 82-81 overtime win at Geelong Arena.
Harrower was cleared to play by her Russian league team last week and wasted no time in igniting the winless Spirit, as the home team jumped to a 24-17 quarter-time lead.
The margin blew out to 13 points midway through the third time, as Bendigo centre Gabrielle Richards (16 points, 11 rebounds) emerged to complement Harrower’s perimeter dominance.
The momentum swung when Dandenong coach Dale Waters gave lock-down specialist Emily McInerny the job on Harrower, but it was the offensive impact of Benningfield, Nicole Hunt (20) and Caitlin Ryan (15) that catapulted the Rangers into the lead in the fourth.
Only a buzzer-beating lay-up from Bendigo guard Deanne Butler could force the extra period.
Having squandered their opportunities to put Dandenong away in regular time, the Spirit rose again to claim the narrowest of victories in overtime.
Waters described the game as ‘a cracker’ and found plenty of encouragement despite the end scoreline.
“I thought it was a really high-quality game and there was a lot of positives to come out of it for us,” he said.
“Offensively, we had a good spread of scorers and for Jenni to come in for her first game and score 22 points is pretty impressive.
“We probably just let ourselves down a bit defensively, getting back on transition and defending on-ball screens.”
Waters said his defence would be the focus at training ahead of Friday’s game against reigning champion, Adelaide, at Dandenong Basketball Stadium.
The Rangers – now sitting seventh with 1-1 record – haven’t played at Stud Road since early February, so a bumper crowd is expected against the unbeaten Lightning.
Tip-off is at 8pm.