Rangers dampen Bendigo’s spirit in huge win

By RUSSELL BENNETT
THE Dandenong Rangers WNBL side has extended its winning streak to three after an emphatic takedown of the Bendigo Spirit in a battle of the top four sides at the Dandenong Basketball Stadium on Friday night.
The Rangers, who maintain top spot on the ladder, outworked, out-hustled and completely overpowered the Spirit 89-57, with Sara Blicavs – a former championship-winner with Bendigo – simply superb against her former team.
Dandenong’s front-court of Alex Bunton (10 points, 6 rebounds), Annalise Pickrel (10 points, 6 rebounds), Lauren Scherf, Blicavs (15 points, 7 boards, 3 steals and 3 assists) and veteran Jacinta Kennedy (11 points, 4 boards) were relentless from the get-go – converting a two-point deficit after the first quarter into a 10-point lead at the main break.
While the Rangers struggled early to find their shot from the field, their defensive pressure proved the difference-maker – particularly their ability to convert steals into fast-break points.
Blicavs struggled with her shot at times, but continued to find her team mates – like Pickrell – after causing three straight turnovers by getting in the Spirit’s passing lanes.
A long corner jumper midway through the second proved to be the toughest shot Blicavs took, but she nailed it and found her rhythm almost instantly.
Despite struggling from deep for much of the contest, the Rangers shot 45 per cent from the field, to just 27 per cent from the Spirit and converted a 10-point half-time lead into 19 after the third – putting the contest to bed.
Bendigo veteran Belinda Snell tried desperately to spark her side into life, but the Rangers had the unstoppable force of a freight-train in transition. Right from the outset the Spirit had no answer for the mid-range jumper of Rangers captain Steph Cumming (18 points), with the Dandenong star’s shot selection also a real standout.
Rangers head coach Larissa Anderson said she thought her side came out flat, defensively, to start the game – which in turn impacted Dandenong offensively.
“As the game went on I felt like I was being fairly hard on them because it just felt like we could never put more than a couple of minutes together,” Anderson said, clearly surprised at the final margin.
“When you look at the scoreboard at the end it hasn’t quite sunk in because Bendigo is such a quality team and such an experienced group, having been together for so long.”
Anderson said second half defensive improvements were key to the result.
“I thought we were launching too many outside, early shots and not making them play enough defense,” she said.
“To the girls’ credit they listened and I thought they executed and made them play D (defense) a lot more in the second half.”
Earlier in the night, tireless Dandenong basketball volunteer Barb Gamble was acknowledged for her contribution to the sport at a local level by being named the 2015 recipient of the Bob Coldwell Senior Clubperson of the Year.
Dandenong next faces the Perth Lynx on the road on Sunday afternoon before returning to host the Townsville Fire next Saturday, 31 October.