By JARROD POTTER
SEABL
A RARE home-court loss has forced Dandenong Rangers down the harder path to the SEABL championship.
The Rangers’ women could not stop the perimeter game of the Brisbane Spartans in a 64-71 loss on Saturday night.
Holding the Dandenong effort aloft on their shoulders were Amelia Todhunter (18 points, 6 rebounds), Tenaya Phillips (18 points) and captain Faith Probst (10 points, 6 rebounds) – who toiled in her 200th SEABL match.
The remaining Rangers failed to hit their shots as the home side hit only 34 per cent of its attempts.
Coach Larissa Anderson said Dandenong’s usual defensive prowess was nowhere to be found in the upset loss.
“We just weren’t focused defensively,” Anderson said.
“We had our rules and we weren’t getting it done… we weren’t on the same page.
“I can make excuses for the load that the girls have on during the week, and I was worried about how tired some of them were, as they’ve trained really hard and had not recovered well enough.
“That could explain some of the bad shooting, but put the ball on the floor and make up for it in other areas as we’ve done this season.”
At the other end of the court, Brisbane fed the ball impeccably to long-range shooters Sarah Graham (21 points) and Odette Andrew (17 points) – who both hit match-winning three-pointers in the final term.
“Credit to Brisbane – they just couldn’t miss,” Anderson said.
“Every team is shooting the lights out against us and we just have to adjust to that… we didn’t shut it down at all.”
Dandenong now host Geelong women on Saturday night from 7pm to keep its championship chances alive.
Dandenong’s men fared better on Saturday night – advancing to the SEABL East Conference preliminary final after a 92-85 win over Ballarat.
It was Daequon Montreal (39 points, 9 rebounds) who stepped up under pressure along with star centre Tony Lewis (24 points, 21 rebounds). Dandenong’s import duo led the charge impressively as the Miners could not halt their passage to the rack.
Dandenong’s men will head to Geelong on Saturday night to face the Supercats from 7.30pm.
