By JARROD POTTER
WHILE the result still went Dandenong’s way comfortably, from a league point of view the improvement of West Coast will be the biggest take away from the Rangers’ 79-58 win in Perth on Saturday night.
After whitewashing West Coast last month at home 90-36, the Waves showed a lot more resistance this time around – pushing Dandenong all the way in the 21-point victory.
The three-point game Dandenong has come to signify in the WNBL this season went missing as usual hot-shots only converted 2-12 from beyond the line.
West Coast hassled Dandenong throughout the match as the Waves kept the Rangers to only 35 points after half-time, with Antonia Edmondson (17pts) and Natalie Burton (11pts) providing some scoreboard impact.
The Dandenong maestro Jenna O’Hea (19pts, 5ast) continued her rampage through the competition, snaring her stats off only 28 minutes, while Natalie Novosel (16pts, 4stl, 4ast) and Alice Kunek (15pts, 5reb) also rattled off crucial shots to help push aside the Waves.
Mark Wright went to his bench to provide minutes to his full roster with Aimie Clydesdale (10pts) impressing on her return from a fractured finger, while Brigitte Ardossi (10pts, 5reb) also put some excellent numbers up for limited minutes.
Leilani Mitchell (8pts, 5ast) also offered up strong numbers in the win.
Dandenong maintains second spot on the WNBL ladder and hosts Sydney on Saturday night, the last home game of the year for the Rangers.
Tip-off is 3pm at Dandenong Basketball Stadium.
