Rangers ready for finals battle

By Paul Pickering
DANDENONG was fighting for its WNBL life as the Star went to print last night (Wednesday).
The Rangers were set to end a two-year absence from the finals by hosting Logan in an eliminator at Stud Road, with the winner to face Bendigo in Sunday’s semi-final.
Dandenong had already stitched up fourth spot – and a home final – when it welcomed crosstown rival Bulleen to town on Saturday night, and it was easy to see which team wanted the win more.
The Boomers, who needed the victory to secure top spot, came out firing on their way to an 85-66 victory.
Superstar centre Liz Cambage (25 points, 14 rebounds) – a former Ranger – again victimised her old side, scoring 18 points in a dominant first half as the Boomers went up 43-27 at the interval.
That was enough to convince Dandenong to back off and conserve energy for its date with the Thunder.
Coach Mark Wright pulled stars Abby Bishop and Kath MacLeod out of the game early, leaving red-hot guard Steph Cumming (26 points) to lead a more competitive second half performance.
Wright was far from concerned by the loss on the eve of the finals.
“We used the game to get ourselves ready for Wednesday and, to be perfectly honest, I think everyone had their mind on that,” he said.
“We were prepared to put the cues in the rack pretty early if it wasn’t going our way, rather than fight to the death. Cambage came out on fire and we weren’t making any in-roads on them, so it just wasn’t worth pursuing.”
Wright said on Tuesday that his team was proud of rewarding their home fans with a taste of post-season action.
“I’m sure everyone at Dandenong is happy that we’re back with a home final, and hopefully we can produce a good, solid performance and get this win,” he said.
Dandenong split its regular season clashes with Logan, but both teams have made significant roster changes since the Rangers romped to a 36-point win at home in round five.
The Spirit – and a packed house at Bendigo Stadium – awaits either the Rangers or Thunder on Sunday.
This weekend’s other match, between last season’s grand finalists Bulleen and Canberra, will decide which team progresses directly to the championship decider on 13 March.