Dandy downed in derby

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG was brave, but Bulleen was brilliant. That was the long and short of Friday night’s WNBL Melbourne derby at the Veneto Club.
The Rangers, ravaged by injury and illness, lost no admirers on their way to an 87-75 loss in the season’s first meeting between two of the top championship fancies.
Mark Wright’s third-placed outfit was bolstered by the return of skipper Abby Bishop – just three weeks after chipping a bone in her foot – but entered the blockbuster game without point guard Kath MacLeod (concussion) and starting forward Jess Foley (illness).
Travelling fans had glimpses of a memorable victory when the Rangers hit the front midway through the second term, only for a second-half barrage from Opal Jenna O’Hea (21 points) to seal Bulleen’s seventh-straight win.
Wright, who later revealed that Sam Woosnam (thumb), Chantella Perera (calf) and Tracy Gahan (illness) had all carried ailments into the game, was understandably proud of his girls.
“At one stage (during the week) I didn’t think we’d have a team so, considering what they were up against, I thought they were fantastic,” he said.
“We just didn’t have enough fingers to plug up the dyke.”
The Rangers shot the lights out in an entertaining first half, with Bishop (17, seven rebounds) and stand-in point guard Steph Cumming (17) dropping 15 points apiece before the interval.
But the Boomers led 43-40 at half-time and found another gear in the third, with O’Hea and teen phenomenon Liz Cambage (16) capitalising on a series of defensive breakdowns to open up a 14-point three-quarter-time buffer.
O’Hea’s fourth triple of the half came just seconds into the last term, and Dandenong was done. But Wright was far from disappointed.
“I guess I wondered how long we could last before we hit the wall,” he reflected.
“Bulleen got the jump on us (in the third quarter) and they’re too good a team to reel in. But I saw a lot of positives there and I look forward to playing them with a full team.”
Wright spoke proudly about the toughness of his team, as typified by skipper Abby Bishop, who surprised even her coach by suiting up.
Cumming and Perera (11) relished the extra responsibility in MacLeod’s absence, while Ashley Robinson’s (10, 6) battle with the towering Cambage was a highlight.
Wright expects to have a full roster at his disposal for Saturday night’s clash with the West Coast Waves at Stud Road.
That game will be played on court two because of the resurfacing of Dandenong’s show court. Tip-off is at 7.30pm.