Rangers still in the race

By Paul Pickering
IT wasn’t pretty, but the Dandenong Rangers continued to breathe life into their ailing season with a 67-55 win over Townsville on Sunday.
The Rangers, coming off a first-up victory under new head coach Dean Kinsman the previous weekend, led for all but the first five minutes of the midday clash at Stud Road to claim their third win of the season.
They sent the Fire home with a third defeat on the back of a loss to ladder-leader Bulleen the previous night, but the northerners certainly had their chances courtesy of a 20-5 advantage on the offensive boards.
That stat was largely due to foul trouble to Rangers imports Casey Nash and Ashley Lindsey, who played just 26 minutes between them.
The home side had seven players with six or more points, led by guards Caitlin Ryan (10 points) and Steph Cumming (10), while Toni Edmonson (9) and Alison Downie (9) came off the bench to spark a couple of crucial scoring runs.
Edmondson’s first-quarter injection ignited a 9-0 run, after which Dandenong was never headed.
Townsville forward Aneka Davis (17, 16 rebounds) fired up in the second half and looked set to rally the visitors, but the momentum was lost when Ryan delivered a trademark long-range bomb four minutes into the final stanza to give the Rangers a 13-point lead.
So despite losing the battle of the boards 47-28, the Rangers ran out comfortable winners. And Kinsman was delighted.
“Clearly, that (rebounding) has been one of our weaknesses, but the important thing was that Casey and Ash came in down the stretch and got some critical rebounds, and that limited them (the Fire) to one possession,” he reflected.
“It was a bit of a dour struggle, so I was very pleased that we held our nerve.”
Kinsman was buoyed by the even spread of scorers and the impact of Edmondson, Downie and co off the bench.
His team, now 3-7 and in eighth spot on the ladder, will look to continue its improved form when it hosts struggling Perth next Saturday night.
“If we can get that one I think then we’ll have some real momentum rolling and a bit of belief, which will set us up for some tough games before Christmas,” he said.