By Nick Creely
The premiership race has been thrown wide open, with the Dandenong Rangers falling short in a relatively close affair against Townsville at Dandenong Stadium on Saturday night.
With very little separating the two sides in regards to their positions on the ladder, the match was always going to be hardly fought, but it was a matter of who was cleaner and more accurate with their shooting.
It was a special night for the Rangers, who were dedicating the match to The Unite Project, an organisation looking to help youth who are homeless or struggling to make ends meet.
For every $3.50 from the ticket price, the money went to The Unite Project as a way of supporting the cause – and the fans were treated to perhaps a taste of things to come in the finals, with the Fire holding out a slow-finishing Rangers outfit 78-92.
From the outset, the Rangers weren’t quite at their best, with the Fire shooting accurately and displaying a lot more energy around the court.
And they were powerless to stop Suzy Batkovic from putting on one of the performances of the season, with the champion veteran finishing with 26 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
Sara Blicavs (24 points, 4 rebounds) once again led from the front, while Steph Cumming (16 points) had her moments and Nat Novosel (14 points and seven rebounds) continues to build into finals.
Blicavs said despite the result, they will continue to look forward, and praised Batkovic for her stellar performance. “We have the opportunity to play them again next week which is great – I think we played them in November so they’re a completely different team to when we last played them,” she said postmatch.
“I’m up for the challenge – it hurts now but we get another chance.
“We knew Suzy was a big target – she is unstoppable when she’s going – but we have to defend everyone on the court.”
Blicavs was also thrilled with the large turnout to Dandenong, saying that the fans really rallied behind the true meaning of the night.
“I was so happy to see everyone come out – a lot of people were wearing black and pink, but we also have had about 45 enquiries to get our fridges into local cafes tonight which is awesome,” she said.
The Rangers will have the opportunity to bounce back quickly, as they head on the road to face the Fire once more on Friday night, before a top-table clash with the Sydney Uni Flames the very next night.
