Rosie Fadljevic cops a knock in Dandenong”s one-point victory over Ballarat on Saturday night. 85615 Picture: JARROD POTTER
By JARROD POTTER
DANDENONG’S SEABL teams struggled to get the job done on the weekend, with the men conceding both matches against Ballarat and Bendigo, while the women also lost to Bendigo after defeating the Ballarat Rush.
The men failed to deliver any tangible offence in their 59-73 loss to Ballarat, shooting at 27.6 per cent from the field and 7/30 from outside the perimeter. Daequon Montreal hit a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Tony Lewis (eight points, 10 rebounds) was the other notable performer in a lacklustre effort.
The road-trip to Bendigo didn’t pan out any better, pipped at the post by two points. The Rangers held a three-point lead at three-quarter-time, after fighting back from 13-23 down at the first break, but the Braves did enough to sneak past Dandenong, as the Rangers put up another woeful shooting display for 37 per cent.
Lewis (20 points, 11 rebounds), Montreal (14 points, seven rebounds) and Venky Jois (eight points, 11 rebounds) were dominant in the air for the Rangers.
In the women’s matches, the Rangers narrowly snuck past the Rush by a point. A 22-9 first quarter, with Dandenong seemingly set to race away from Ballarat, was turned on its head by a 9-27 second term, as Ballarat took a five-point lead at the half.
Dandenong’s mediocre shooting continued in the third, outgunned 8-12, but the strange match continued to get stranger in the last term, as Ballarat failed to hit a single field goal. Dandenong’s 12-2 final term was enough to sneak them over the line. Steph Cumming (17 points) and Clare Papavs (nine points, 14 rebounds) were the standout performers for the Rangers.
That good luck didn’t continue in Sunday’s match as Dandenong lost to Bendigo 69-81. For the Rangers, Amelia Todhunter (21 points, five rebounds) and Hope Terdich (13 points, nine rebounds) led the way.
Despite the hiccups, the Rangers teams finished the home and away season on top of their respective ladders.
Both sides face the Geelong Supercats in second semi-finals in the SEABL East Conference, with the winning booking a week off and advancing to the conference finals.
Tip off on Saturday for the finals’ double header is 5.30pm for the women and 7.30pm for the men.
