Rangers on the rebound

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG coach Dean Kinsman says there is a ‘feeling’ brewing in the Rangers’ ranks after they torched Perth 112-66 at home on Saturday night.
The Rangers notched their third consecutive win on the back of a clinical yet exhilarating performance, racking up the highest points tally in the league this season.
They improved to 4-7 for the season and will take some serious momentum into Saturday night’s clash with ladder-leader Bulleen in Traralgon.
The home side broke the game open with a 22-0 run in seven minutes either side of quarter time and went on to increase their lead at every change.
They shot the ball at an extraordinary 61 per cent from the field and had seven players in double figures by night’s end.
Young shooting guard Steph Cumming and import centre Ash Lindsey led the way with 17 points apiece, while Nicole Hunt (15), Casey Nash (12), Toni Edmondson (12), Caitlin Ryan (11) and Jess Mahony (10) all got in on the act.
That offensive explosion was the result of swarming team defence, which created opportunities on the counter-attack.
Nothing went right for the Lynx, despite solid contributions from pivot Danielle Campbell (17), skipper Melissa Marsh (16) and Ashley Gilmore (10).
Kinsman, who is now 3-0 at the helm, praised his ruthless Rangers for keeping the foot on the pedal.
“Once we kicked into gear we were able to keep that momentum going, which was really important,” he said, acknowledging the growing belief within his squad.
“I thought we really looked for each other tonight, and pretty much every link we ran worked – so that’s confidence.”
That belief seems to have engulfed Lindsey. The towering Texan has overcome a scratchy start to the season and now looks a legitimate presence at both ends.
The Rangers also have an abundance of speed in the open court, where Mahony, Hunt, Cumming and Edmondson made the Lynx look foolish on Saturday night.
The run-and-gun game style was appreciated by the crowd, but also by Kinsman, who has encouraged his charges to push the ball up the floor.
He and assistant Dale Waters – who recently stepped aside from the top job – are now beginning to see the fruits of an aggressive off-season recruiting campaign.
Kinsman says they’re a long way from where they want to be, but they’re heading in the right direction.
“What we’ve done is we’ve created a bit of a feeling (over the last three weeks) and built some confidence with the girls in their roles,” he said.
“But this week we’re really going to find out where we’re at.”
The Boomers, which improved to 11-1 when it defeated the Lynx 110-79 on Sunday, will play in Bendigo on Friday night before backing up against its cross-town rivals the following night.