By Marcus Uhe
A win to Dandenong’s women’s side against Knox on Sunday left a positive mark on an otherwise bleak weekend for the Rangers, who lost three of their four contests across both the mens and womens’ NBL1 programs.
The Rangers flew out of the blocks with a 27-15 first quarter and never looked back, going on to win 79-62 for its 10th win of the campaign, after suffering a heavy 34-point loss to Waverley the night before.
A tight opening quarter against Knox was blown-open midway through the period thanks to a 10-0 run for the home side.
Briahna Whatman nailed two threes and layups to Sarah Boothe and Amber Smith fuelled the run, along with sturdy rebounding on the other end of the floor.
From that point on, the Rangers never looked back, maintaining a double-figure lead for the remainder of the contest, unfettered by the absence of star forward Nyadiew Puoch.
The Rangers were clinical in all aspects of the game, shooting a superior percentage from the field, the three-point line, assists, rebounds and blocks.
Sarah Boothe registered a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Amber Smith falling just short of one herself with 21 points and nine rebounds.
It was a much different experience the day before, falling behind early and unable to recover. The margin grew at every interval, from 11 to 17 to 31 and finally 34 at the final whistle, 63-97.
Smith played a lone hand for the Rangers as the only player to score in double figures, a stark comparison to all of Waverley’s starters who all did.
For the men, a 15-point loss to Waverley on Saturday was compounded by a 25-point loss to Knox the next day.
After reeling in the visitors’ strong early lead to trail by just three at the final break, a three from Deng Puoch one minute into the final term gave the Rangers a shock lead.
But from that point onwards it was a 29-13 run in favour of the Falcons, finishing 104-89 ahead.
Against Knox it was a disastrous third quarter that cost the Rangers, outscored 39-13.
Just five points behind at the half, the Rangers had no answer for Raiders’ guard Ke’Jhan Feagin, who scored 20 points in the third quarter alone with six three-point shots to drive a wedge between the two teams.
While outsourcing the visitors in the final term, the scoreline finished 87-112.
Jack Roberts played a solid all-round contest, tallying 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
