By ROY WARD
AUSTRALIAN superstar Lauren Jackson is highly unlikely to play at Dandenong Stadium this Saturday night but the Dandenong Rangers will leave nothing to chance and prepare for her just in case.
The London Olympic Games flag bearer is on the Canberra Capitals roster this WNBL season but has yet to take the court due to ongoing injury problems.
Capitals coach Carrie Graf told the Canberra Times last week that Jackson would not be risked before the WNBL Christmas break, especially as the Capitals have six games in four weeks.
But Rangers coach Mark Wright said his side would not place in jeopardy its six-match winning streak by not being prepared for a surprise Jackson appearance.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she plays,” Wright said with a little laugh. “You have to be ready for that just in case, although we have our own things to work on and we probably don’t put as much work into other teams as we used to previously.”
Wright said the bigger challenge for his charges was to keep lifting their performances against other title contenders. “We need to keep testing ourselves and making sure we are up there,” he said. “If we want to defend our title we have to defeat these teams. The challenge will be there and we will be up for it.”
The Rangers thrashed West Coast Waves 95-64 on Saturday night with Steph Cumming shooting 28 points while Kath Macleod had 20 points and Sara Blicavs came off the bench to score 16 points.
Newly arrived WNBA star Monica Wright struggled in her first game at her new home court making just two of 12 shots, but Mark Wright tipped her to bounce back as she had shot well in her two previous matches.
“Monica and Jenna O’Hea between them shot something like six of 20 tonight and we still scored 95 points which is a great sign because you won’t see those two shoot like that again.”
The Rangers host Canberra Capitals at Dandenong Stadium this Saturday night at 7pm.
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