Dandenong Basketball Association general manager Graeme Allen, right, and Rangers coach Mark Wright discuss their options during a lengthy delay caused by a leaking roof at Stud Road on Friday night. 60049
-Paul Pickering
DANDENONG is just one win away from booking a spot in the WNBL finals after recording two crucial victories over Adelaide and West Coast on the weekend.
A murky finals pictured got a whole lot clearer on Sunday, when the Rangers overcame the Waves 90-75 in Perth to take custody of fourth spot as the regular season enters its penultimate round.
The Rangers can now ensure a top-five finish by beating Townsville at Stud Road this Sunday, or put everything on the line against a red-hot Bulleen the following weekend.
Mark Wright’s team eventually got the win it desperately needed against Adelaide on Friday night, despite a two-hour delay caused by the leaking roof at Dandenong Stadium.
The home side was coming off back-to-back losses and did just enough to account for the last-placed Lightning, with Kath MacLeod (17 points, seven rebounds, six assists), Abby Bishop (15, 9) and Jess Foley (14) leading the way towards a wire-to-wire 81-74 win.
The late finish was exactly what Dandenong didn’t want ahead of its flight to Perth on Saturday, but Bishop (22, 13), MacLeod (22) and young guard Steph Cumming (20) made sure the trip was not in vain.
The plucky Waves, who upset the Rangers at home in December, employed similarly physical tactics on Sunday, but their visitors were up to the challenge.
Stars MacLeod and Bishop came in for some serious punishment, but shot a combined 19-of-22 from the free-throw line – MacLeod a perfect 11-of-11 – to ice the game.
“They pretty much made us earn every shot,” Wright said of a 39-18 foul differential on the afternoon. Fortunately we made our foul shots, and it really helped that Steph Cumming had a big game.
“She’s been playing hard, but hasn’t been scoring the way she can, so it was great for her to get some form back.”
Wright viewed Friday night’s clash as a danger game and, given the awkward start to the weekend, was delighted to come away with consecutives victories.
Granted, it wasn’t finals-bound opposition, but the Rangers can take plenty from an improved offensive performance after two weeks of wayward shooting.
“They were two very winnable games, but we did the right thing and won them, so I couldn’t be more pleased at the moment,” Wright said.
“We have been struggling to score points, so we’ll take some confidence from the weekend.”
The Rangers, now 11-9 for the season, know that Logan (11-9), Sydney (10-9) and Townsville (9-9) are poised to pounce if they slip up, but a win on Sunday would give Dandenong a favourable head-to-head split – used as a tie-break for finals spots – against all of those opponents.
So the scenario is simple: win and they’re in.
Townsville is coming off a bye weekend, so the Fire should be in top form for the noon start at Stud Road on Sunday.
