By JARROD POTTER
DANDENONG will play host to its biggest SEABL double-header yet this year after both Rangers sides qualified for the post-season.
Larissa Anderson’s Rangers have excelled all season and didn’t let up over the weekend by knocking over a gallant Brisbane before absolutely thrashing Sandringham on Sunday.
Dandenong did the heavy lifting through the second half to finally knock over Brisbane in a 72-50 grind-out.
Shooting wasn’t a strong suit on the night, but Dandenong knocked down enough shots to blow past the Spartans – who were gutted with injury after Sarah Graham had to leave the game after only 11 minutes on court.
In her best outing of the year, Alison Downie (14 points, eight rebounds) proved the difference on court as she roamed both ends with aplomb.
Filling up the stats-sheet with blocks, steals, and assists on top of her usual prowess under both rings, Downie’s third quarter helped shift the tide back towards a Rangers’ victory after Brisbane surged.
Also hitting the mark in the 22-point win were Clare Papavs (13 points, eight rebounds) and Jacinta Kennedy (nine points, 10 rebounds).
“You don’t get too carried away with that one – Brisbane is still good – they lost Sarah Graham early and she’s a massive part of that team, so to do so well without her just shows the quality that they are,” Anderson said after the Brisbane win.
“For whatever reason, we shot really badly – we were flat at times – and thank god Alison Downie came to play as she was fabulous tonight at both ends of the floor.”
The Rangers savaged the Sabres in a 110-50 demolition – with Anderson sharing the minutes and duties around the roster as a penultimate precursor to the finals.
Shooting at an absurdly amazing 59.7 from the field, Dandenong blazed away to leave Sandringham’s season in tatters.
Papavs (25 points), Kennedy (17 points) and Bree Whatman (17 points) all flourished from limited minutes as the bench benefitted from much-needed court-time. The side will be without up-and-coming point guard Rachel Antoniadou, who has packed her bags and left to begin her freshman year at Florida State University, and swingman Chloe Bibby (knee).
The Rangers women have earned the right to play on home court throughout the finals, after they comfortably finished atop the SEABL East Conference with a 19-3 record.
With mid-week exhibitions against American colleges compromising the team’s training continuity – added to the stream of injuries and unavailable players week-in, week-out, Anderson believed it was exceptional to see her side continue to flourish and take out the regular season top spot.
“We’ve had a fairly up and down few weeks – playing exhibition matches and having different training and that sort of stuff – probably not a bit surprising when you’re not playing for much, I suppose it is hard to stay up,” Anderson said.
“While I’m disappointed at little bits of that, in another way I’m super proud of these girls with the amount of ins and outs we’ve had all season to constantly finish so clearly in first spot is a testament to this group.”
Dandenong will battle Geelong on Saturday evening at home.
The Rangers men have also booked their spot in the post-season after snaring two nail-biters over Brisbane (78-71) and Sandringham (77-74).
It was a red-letter weekend for superstar import Daequon Montreal, as he notched 25 points against the Spartans before pummelling past the Sabres in a 37-point, 10 rebound mercurial performance.
Lucas Walker also shone under the opposition ring – grasping 15 and 17 rebounds respectively in his two outings -Dandenong’s men earned third in the SEABL East and will battle the Ballarat Miners in the first semi-final from 7.30pm at Dandenong Basketball Stadium.
The Rangers have additional incentive to battle for the SEABL Championship with both grand finals scheduled for Saturday 12 September on home court at Dandenong Basketball Stadium. The women (5.45pm) tipping things off before the men (8pm) to round out the SEABL season.
