By JARROD POTTER
WNBL – ROUND 9 REVIEW
SLAYING another WNBL powerhouse, Dandenong affirmed its status as a genuine championship contender with a 65-63 win over Perth Lynx.
While it was easy going at first for the Rangers – having extended and held a 10-point lead throughout the match – it came down to the wire as Perth almost snatched victory on the last shot of the game.
A dying-seconds steal from Amelia Todhunter (four points, eight rebounds) ricocheted off her legs as she charged back up court, giving the ball back to Perth with seven seconds left.
The in-bound went to three-point dynamo Sami Whitcomb (10 points) – who was corralled to the top of the key by Alison Downie (seven points) and despite putting the step-back shot up, it bounced off the rim to give Dandenong its second top-of-the-ladder scalp in as many weeks.
Having lost twice to the Lynx this year, both over in Western Australia, the Rangers welcomed the chance to amend prior mistakes.
It started much better than it ended for the Rangers as the first half was dominated by Jacinta Kennedy (12 points, seven rebounds) – who picked up where she left off last week against Sydney Uni.
Winding back the clock, the 33-year-old centre gave a lesson to her younger counterparts as Natalie Burton (10 points) and Louella Tomlinson (six points) were well contained.
Former Ranger Carley Mijovic (12 points) was the only one of the taller Lynx brigade to really shine as she proved a handful inside the key or at the top of it nailing threes – a staggering effort for a 21-year-old 196cm power forward.
Dandenong’s other stand-outs were week-in, week-out warriors Steph Cumming (15 points), Sara Blicavs (15 points) and Downie – with the trio blanketing any offensive outlay from the Lynx.
While the shooting work from neither side was particularly impressive, Dandenong coach Larissa Anderson was thrilled with the defensive effort to hold another strong side to a sub-70 total.
“It really shouldn’t have come down to that,” Anderson said. “We gave up some poor options on offence and didn’t execute.
“Looked a little bit ratty, but to keep a team like that to 63 points – we kept Sydney to 65 last week – you can tell what we’ve been working on and really proud of the girls’ effort.”
While the ins and outs have forced a revolving-door through the Rangers’ roster, Anderson thought the side has shown its character after two hard-fought triumphs and should not be discounted when playing their best.
“To me we kind of talk about what teams would say about us, then we lose another player and someone else gets hurts and re-jiggle it again,” Anderson said. “All the girls deserve a pat on the back for how hard they’re working – they’re really pushing each other … for us we just want to be consistent and the last two weeks at least have been consistent.”
The win leaves Dandenong knocking on the top four door with three matches remaining before the much-awaited Christmas break to try and nurse a few injured players back onto the roster.
Dandenong face Adelaide on Sunday and will fly off again this week to face low-lying Canberra.
