By JARROD POTTER
WNBL – Round 13
FROM WNBL giant killers to giants in their own right, Dandenong Rangers have stormed up the WNBL ladder to take third spot after an 89-82 win over second place Bendigo Spirit.
Erasing a 12-game consecutive losing streak to the Spirit, Dandenong took control of the battle early and made sure the hoodoo would be wiped clean ahead of the final phase of the regular season.
Team defence was the highlight of the first half as countless Rangers threw themselves head-first in for rebounds, blocks and steals.
The Rangers unit proved difficult for Bendigo to penetrate as Tegan Cunningham (8 points, 10 rebounds) continued her rich form at both ends as she thrives as a defensive powerhouse. Also flourishing whatever the situation, Alice Kunek (21 points), Penny Taylor (19 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) and Cappie Pondexter (17 points, 8rebounds, 6 assists) flung themselves at anything airborne to show the Spirit the Rangers’ once sparse defending was long gone.
Kunek then made her biggest impact on the match from long-range as she lit up the court when it counted most in the second half. Her 17 points after half-time – including back-to-back threes through the third term – gave the Australian Opals’ representative her third match over 20 points this season with all of them happening in the current winning streak.
Despite the margin blowing out to 14 points late in the match, there was life yet in Bendigo as Kelsey Griffin turned the game on its head through the fourth term. The WNBA forward shot out to a match-high 23 points and clasped seven rebounds to give Bendigo a last-ditch attempt at victory as the margin was reeled back to only four.
Dandenong struggled to get on the scoreboard for nearly three minutes in the last term before tipping the tables back in their favour as Griffin was ejected from the game with five fouls. When Griffin fouled out, Dandenong regained control through the cooler heads of their experienced tandem Taylor and Pondexter to eke out the seven-point triumph to take their sixth win in a row.
Mark Wright said the win was all the better for Dandenong’s ability to cover the gaping hole in their roster as starting point guard Kathleen Macleod dislocated her kneecap, requiring surgery and a three-four week stint on the sidelines.
“Let’s just state that wasn’t just a great victory, excellent to have a win against a second placed team and keep our roll going, but we did it without Kathleen Macleod,” Wright said.
“That in itself is a statement about this team of how good they are as they can compensate for a player like Kathleen.
“From my point of view that was the test for us – we’ve been tested game after game after game since Christmas and then this was our biggest one yet as we didn’t have our point guard who is averaging over 20 a game since the Christmas break.”
From the starting five all the way down the bench, Wright was impressed with the Rangers’ resolve and knows it will be needed if the Rangers want to keep the wins coming.
“They let Alice Kunek get a look and when Cappie and Penny are playing like that and we have Kath as well, Alice is going to get her looks as they can’t cover off on everyone,” Wright said.
“Tegan had a great game, Pickrel was fantastic and you have to play well when you play teams like these; unless everyone plays well you can’t win.”
A seventh win in a row is up for grabs as Dandenong faces Adelaide at home on Friday night from 7.30pm.
