By JARROD POTTER
FINALLY breaking the Boomers after a back-and-forth four-point thriller, the Rangers managed to take the hard-earned victory.
Saturday night belonged to Dandenong in all facets bar one; the scoreboard.
No matter what the Rangers did on offence, they couldn’t break the Boomers’ resolve, with Guy Molloy’s charges hanging in there throughout a lopsided first half.
From courtside it appeared the Rangers were ready to steamroll the Boomers at every change, but to the visitors’ credit they held on.
Outside of Brittany Smart (18 points) nailing three first half three-pointers, the Boomers offence was at the behest of Dandenong.
The Rangers’ defence – led by Sara Blicavs (16 points, nine rebounds), Annalise Pickrel (11 points, eight rebounds) and Alex Bunton (seven points, four rebounds) held up to the inside pressure from the likes of Elyse Penaluna and Olivia Thompson while Smart, Tess Mageden and Alice Kunek peppered the ring from mid-range and beyond.
Bunton and Blicavs brutalised the Boomers inside the Rangers’ key – busting through anything inside the lanes to really showcase how strong Dandenong has become in 2015/16.
The main battles were fought at the two and three for most of the night as Steph Cumming (15 points) locked horns with Tess Madgen – as neither gave an inch in a long-range showdown trading treys – while Australian representative Blicavs and former Ranger Kunek were similarly matched in a swingman encounter.
While the lead stretched to 13 through the second quarter, Dandenong could not deliver the finishing blow as Melbourne clawed back at the deficit.
A four-point margin at the end of the third was turned into a Melbourne advantage by the powerhouse shooting of Madgen in the final term.
Larissa Anderson turned to her defensive dynamo Al Downie (six points, four steals) to put the brakes on Tess Madgen – who had already knocked down two early three-pointers in the final term.
Downie kept the Australian guard tied down through the crunch moments and made a few clutch plays of her own to give the Rangers back the lead and help hold on to it.
Blicavs then showed off her unwavering calibre in the dying minutes as she took it upon herself to take Dandenong to the rack.
She was fouled nine times as Blicavs’ keyway assault reaped 8/10 shooting from the free throw line in the final term.
With scores level at 90 seconds to go, after another Madgen three, the match was sealed by Blicavs’ frees and import Annalise Pickrel pushing to the baseline and finishing off the hard-ball lay-up.
“There was a good turnout tonight (Saturday) and I think we gave everyone a really good game,” Dandenong coach Larissa Anderson said. “Was a physical game and a game of two halves with what we could get away with in the first half and not get away with in the second.
“It’s a journey every week and we’re trying to get better.”
Dandenong’s schedule difficulty level is at its peak currently, with the Rangers set to return to Perth to face the Lynx … only three weeks after their last trip across the Nullarbor.
“Thankfully it’s a single game, but to Perth twice in three weeks is a tough one,” Anderson said.
“We owe them from last time – they were great and we played terribly.
“I think we’ve improved a lot in the last two weeks so it should be a good hit out.”
Dandenong will test co-captain Aimie Clydesdale at training this week as the Rangers’ starting point guard looks to return from a knee injury.
Dandenong faces the Lynx on Friday night.
