By ROY WARD
DANDENONG Rangers have to stop their turnovers and fix their offence if they want the opportunity to beat Bendigo Spirit in the WNBL grand final on March 10.
The Rangers lost 78-71 to the Spirit in the major semi final at Bendigo Stadium on Sunday afternoon with the Spirit winning the right to host the season-decider.
Rangers star Jenna O’Hea had a game-high 23 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists while putting aside any concerns about her previous form against the Spirit with an impressive display.
Monica Wright had an exceptional second-quarter on her way to 18 points and eight rebounds but no other Ranger scored in double-figures.
The Rangers will now prepare to host the preliminary final against Townsville Fire at Dandenong Stadium this Sunday at 4pm.
The Fire come into the match with nothing to lose after causing one of the biggest upsets in WNBL history when they beat the Adelaide Lightning in the elimination semi final in Adelaide on Saturday.
Both the Fire and Rangers have injury question-marks over their point guards with Rangers star Kath Macleod sitting out the final few minutes with a knee problem while Fire captain Rachael Flanagan banged heads with Adelaide’s Angela Marino and left the match with a badly swollen eye and will get further tests this week to see if she has suffered any bone damage.
Rangers coach Mark Wright said his side had to prepare for Townsville, a team he expected would put in a relentless effort in the preliminary final.
Wright said his side had given away too many turnovers (19-9) and had never recovered from going scoreless for the first eight minutes of the third term as the Spirit scored 19 unanswered points.
The Rangers have now lost four times to the Spirit this season although they will take some confidence from their impressive second quarter in which the Rangers outscored the Spirit 25-15 and dominated the rebound count.
The winner of the preliminary final will play Bendigo at Bendigo Stadium in the grand final on March 10.
