By David Nagel
The Dandenong Rangers men’s and women’s teams had mixed results on the weekend but will take plenty of positive vibes into the remainder of the NBL-1 South season.
The men’s team went win-loss against Ringwood and Diamond Valley respectively, while the women’s team reversed that trend…overcoming a Saturday loss to reign supreme on Sunday.
The men’s team rode a super-fast start to a 100-95 victory over Ringwood on Saturday night, with a 28-12 first quarter proving the difference in the end.
The Rangers had their lead cut to nine at three-quarter time, but showed great resilience to stave off a strong comeback from the Hawks in the final term.
Deng Puoch, with 26 points, was once again superb for the Rangers, while 21 points to Jacob Davison, and 18 to Lawson Eales, proved telling factors when final scores were tallied up.
A crucial 10 points off the bench from Mason Perry were also important.
The Rangers then began Sunday’s visit to Diamond Valley in good form, trailing by just one, before a second-quarter lapse gave the home side the advantage.
The Eagles rattled on 32-14 in the second quarter on their way to a 105-83 victory.
A Puoch double-double, 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 20 points from Davison were not enough to get the Rangers across the line.
The Rangers head to the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC) on Sunday to take on bottom-placed Melbourne Tigers.
The Rangers women’s team largely matched motors with second-placed Ringwood on Saturday, but a decisive 22-8 third quarter led the flying Hawks to a 70-58 victory.
Emilee Harmon scored 20 points, and Georgia Taylor 12 for the Rangers, who finished off strongly with a 20-15 final term.
The Rangers carried that momentum through to Sunday, where spirits were revived with a 101-79 triumph over the Diamond Valley Eagles.
The Rangers led narrowly at quarter time, but dominated the second and third terms to edge away with the contest.
The Rangers scored 53-34 through the middle stages of the match to record their fourth victory of the season.
Harmon was once again brilliant for the Rangers, scoring 29 points, while Gemma Potter with 23 and Luisa Fakalata with 20 also stuffed the stats sheet.
The defensive efforts of Clare Camac also proved crucial, grabbing 10 of 11 rebounds at the defensive end of the court, while 16 bench-points from Taylor rammed home the advantage.
The women’s team (16th) will look for back-to-back victories when it hits the road on Sunday to take on the Melbourne Tigers (18th).
The women’s game begins at 12.30pm with the Rangers’ men to follow at 2.30pm.
