Just forget

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG Rangers coach Mark Wright has ordered his players to “forget about basketball” over the Christmas break.
That edict followed a 77-67 loss at Sydney Uni on Saturday night, which was the Rangers’ third consecutive defeat and saw them slip to sixth place on the WNBL ladder.
The visitors led 41-32 at halftime, but shot an icy nine-of-27 from the field in the second half as Flames Nathalie Stafford (26 points), Katie-Rae Ebzery (18) and Amy Denson (16) drove home the advantage.
Dandenong, still without injured point guard Kath MacLeod, was best served by her understudy, Steph Cumming (17), and forwards Tracy Gahan (11) and Lauren King (11).
The second-half fade-out left Wright to hope that the Christmas break – Dandenong’s next game is at the AIS on 7 January – might provide the spark that has alluded his team over the past month.
“It couldn’t have come at a better time,” he said.
“I thought we were ok in the first half (against the Flames), but then it was as if the lights went out and we stopped functioning. I don’t have any answers for that.
“Psychologically, we’ve gone from one extreme to the other to try and find a trigger. I’ve done the pleading and I’ve done the rabble-raising, but neither has worked.
“I think they just need to go home and really forget about basketball.”
Wright said he expects his charges to benefit, both mentally and physically, from the break. His team is battered, with Abby Bishop (foot) and Sam Woodsnam (thumb) carrying injuries during the three-game losing streak.
Most importantly though, MacLeod has now overcome the lingering effects of a concussion and will be available for the first game of 2011.
“That’ll be a big positive for us,” Wright said.
“She’s going to work right through Christmas and get herself back on track and ready to go, so hopefully we can regroup and put a few wins together.”
Wright said he was disappointed with a 7-6 return so far, but he remains confident that the group’s best is good enough to match it with the likes of ladder leaders Canberra (13-2) and Bulleen (10-2) in the post-season.
“There’s a feeling that all we have to do is hang on to one of those (five) finals spots,” he said.
“It’s not going to be number one or two, but we think three is achievable.”
That theory will be tested when the Rangers face the Capitals in back-to-back games on 8 and 15 January.
The latter – a home game in the favourable Saturday night slot – looks set to be one of the biggest drawcards of the season, with Bishop and Chantella Perera to face off against their championship-winning teammates for the first time.