Rangers feel the pain

By Paul Pickering
VINCE Inglima returned from injury, but the pain continued for the Dandenong Rangers on Saturday night.
The rusty import scored eight points on three-of-14 shooting as his side went down to Canberra 92-83 at Stud Road.
Inglima missed five games with his hamstring injury, with the Rangers losing the last three of those as the scoring burden fell squarely on the shoulders of Dusty Jura and Brent Hobba.
Ironically, Dandenong got an even spread of contributors – even without Inglima firing – on Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough to overcome an eight-point quarter-time deficit.
The Gunners had much too much heavy artillery, with Jono Miller (33 points) and Glenn Baird (23) combining to do most of the damage.
Jura had 23 points and 12 boards for the home side, while guards David Godfrey (16) and Gavin Illangakoon (16) both registered season-highs. Hobba (11, 5), who dropped 37 points on Geelong the previous weekend, continues to struggle for consistency.
Both sides went into Saturday night’s clash at 3-8 for the season, and each will need to turn things around in a hurry if they are to have any chance of making the playoffs in August.
For the Rangers, that revival must start with a trip to the Snakepit to face traditional rival Kilsyth (5-8) on Saturday night, before retur-ning home to face Mount Gambier (5-6) on Sunday.
In the Championship Women’s division, Dandenong has slumped to 5-5 after losing its third-straight game against Sandringham on Saturday night.
The resurgent Sabres won every quarter of their home clash, improving to 2-7 for the season as the Rangers fell to fifth on the ladder.
Forward Megan Moody scored 14 points for the visitors, but Sandringham’s Mikaela Dombkins (23), Natalie Porter (15), Chantella Perera (15) and Tegan Fowler (15) put on a scoring exhibition for their home fans.
The Rangers will now head north to play Brisbane on Saturday night.