By Hayley Wildes
The Dandenong Rangers ended their four-game losing streak in dominant fashion against the Bendigo Spirit on Friday night.
Taking on the Spirit in Bendigo, Dandenong’s defence was switched on from the opening tip and simply smothered Bendigo all night.
Forcing five turnovers in the opening quarter, Dandenong took advantage and held a 22-14 lead at the first break.
Bec Cole scored the first five points of the second quarter and it was the start of a dominant run for the Rangers. They held the Spirit scoreless for the first 5:15 of the quarter – forcing them into five turnovers over that time – and jumped out to an incredible 33-14 lead.
Both teams traded baskets from there, and at half-time Dandenong held a 44-29 lead. Holding the opposition to just 29 first-half points was a credit to the Rangers’ willingness to work hard on the defensive end.
Having experienced some second half fadeouts recently, the Rangers came out in the third with a real purpose and didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal. They continued to bunker down on defence and restricted Bendigo to 17 points for the third quarter.
On offence, Tessa Lavey caught fire and scored 12 points for the quarter, including back-to-back triples to end the quarter. With a quarter to play, Dandenong held a comprehensive 69-48 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Spirit did cut the lead down to 11 points with plenty of time left on the clock, but the Rangers responded to run out 83-62 winners.
The work of Kayla Pedersen (12 points and 12 rebounds) was vital as she anchored the defence and brought down key rebounds all night long. Betnijah Laney (18 points, 5 assists and 3 steals) was massive on both ends of the court, while Bec Cole (16 points and 5 assists) and Tessa Lavey (16 point and 3 rebounds) played vital roles in ensuring Dandenong left Bendigo with a win.
The Rangers’ defence, which has been suspect of late, was rock solid, holding the Sprit to just 31% shooting from the field, while the Rangers shot a healthy 50%.
For Bendigo, Rebecca Tobin (14 points and 8 rebounds) top-scored, while Cassidy McLean (11 points) and Louella Tomlinson (10 points and 6 rebounds) were impressive off the bench.
