By JARROD POTTER
THE Dandenong Rangers women led for the match in round 3 SEABL action on Saturday – besting the Geelong Supercats 69-60, while the men were left to wonder what if in a 84-88 nail biter against the Supercats.
The Rangers women enjoyed a stellar performance from Clare Papavs (13 points, five rebounds, four assists), Amelia Todhunter (10 points, seven rebounds) and an impressive 12-point game from centre prospect Lauren Scherf.
Faith Probst (five points, seven rebounds) was strong off the glass to cap off the great all-round performance.
Playing catch-up ball is never easy and testament to this is Dandenong’s four-point loss to the Supercats in the men’s blockbuster rematch of last season’s SEABL east conference final.
Giving the ball back seven times in the first quarter, Dandenong failed to maintain offensive pressure against the fleet-footed Geelong – down 13-18 at the first break.
Glimpses of their 2012 form started to filter through in the second as Dandenong brought back the deficit to seven at the main-break.
A monster-third quarter – with star forward Daequon Montreal (27 points, seven rebounds) making a number of big shots – kept the Rangers in the mix
Melbourne Tigers’ big man Owen Odigie (five points) returned from NBL duties and a broken wrist and was eased back into the line-up with 15 minutes – before being subbed out prematurely with a mouth injury.
Andrew Harms (17 points, eight assists) and Tony Lewis (12 points, 11 rebounds) were the other main men for the Rangers.
A 2-0 record puts the women to the top of the table while the men sit second behind Geelong.
Both teams head to Knox on Saturday night before returning home Sunday to face Canberra.
