Rangers on the ropes

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG coach Dean Kinsman conceded that it would take a miracle for his Rangers to make the WNBL play-offs after back-to-back losses in Queensland on the weekend.
The Rangers succumbed to Townsville (82-68) and Logan (67-51) on consecutive days, slipping to 5-11 for the season and four games outside the play-off bracket.
With just six games remaining, Dandenong now looks all but certain to miss the post-season for the second consecutive year.
The visitors proved to be no match for the play-off-bound Fire on Saturday night, when import Ashley Lindsey (21 points, 11 rebounds) played a virtual lone hand on offence.
The Rangers lost the battle of the boards 48-29 and shot an abysmal five-of-15 from the free-throw line in a forgettable first outing for 2010.
“It was extremely disappointing,” Kinsman reflected on the Saturday night game.
“To have our poorest shooting game of the year in a game that was so pivotal to where we were heading after Christmas.”
Logan shaped as a more likely scalp on Sunday, but the Thunder broke free of a three-quarter time deadlock to outscore the Rangers 26-10 in the final term.
American forward Casey Nash (17, 11) led the way in a losing cause, while Toni Edmondson (12) made the most of her 13 minutes on court.
Kinsman was deflated, but keen to salvage something from the remainder of the season – starting with this Saturday’s clash with Lauren Jackson’s Canberra Capitals.
“There’s still plenty of opportunity for some successes, but it’s probably not going to be finals,” he admitted.
“Where we sit, we’ve just got to come out in a game on national TV against quality opposition and have a bit of character about us.”
The Rangers will have extra incentive to perform in the 1pm fixture at Stud Road, with stalwart Alison Downie notching up her 200th WNBL appearance.