Rangers clinch fourth title in six yeaers

Written by Steve Smith (SEABL Freelance Reporter)

The Dandenong Lady Rangers claimed a remarkable fourth women’s SEABL championship in six years with a clinical 76-63 win over a brave Kilsyth Lady Cobras on Saturday night at the Dandenong Basketball Stadium.

A 12-2 scoring run mid-way through the third quarter for Dandenong proved to be too much for the visitors, who always fought hard but struggled to consistently threaten the Lady Rangers’ defence.

Guard Amelia Todhunter was the spark that ignited the pivotal run and claimed her second Barbara Barton Medal with a superb all-around display of 19 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

She had plenty of offensive support, Jacinta Kennedy adding a tidy double-double of her own with 17 points and 11 boards, while Aimie Clydesdale and Clare Papavs chimed in with 12 and 11 points respectively.

For Kilsyth, Rosie Moult came off the bench to nail four of her eight three-point attempts on her way to a team-high 14 points.

Star guard Steph Cumming struggled through a 5-20 shooting night to post 13 points while skipper Sarah Parsons hauled down an incredible 16 rebounds in her final game for the Lady Cobras.

Dandenong coach Larissa Anderson hailed her conquering team as one she would “go to war with” and reserved extra praise for Todhunter, who missed a large chunk of the season with a knee injury.

“Kilsyth is a great team, they really tested us,” Anderson said.

“But overall I think we stuck with it for the whole game and the credit goes to them, I thought they were amazing tonight.

“She (Amelia) certainly comes for the big games, she’s only tiny but she has such a huge heart.

“She never, ever stops, she’s so professional and determined and to come back from missing 15 weeks with what was a pretty nasty knee injury, is a real credit to her.

“They all step up for the big games and they showed that tonight, especially defensively.

“They always bring it for finals and I never assume it will just happen but I would not choose anyone else I would go to war with.”

A proud Kilsyth coach Sam Woosnam admitted her plucky squad was simply outplayed by the Lady Rangers.

“It just wasn’t our day and that takes nothing away from Dandenong,” Woosnam said.

“They took us out of our game, we couldn’t get stops and they shot the ball extremely well.

“That’s sport and that happens and I’m just so proud of our team.

“I can’t fault my team, they gave their all and that’s all I can ask for.”

Opening the scoring through Kennedy, the Rangers quickly established an early 14-6 advantage despite Kilsyth’s yeoman work on the offensive glass.

But the Lady Cobras continued to pound the boards and by quarter-time had tied the game at 14-apiece.

But another quick burst to open the second quarter had the hosts out to an eight-point lead as the alarm bells rang for Kilsyth.

A collision under the Dandenong basket saw Lady Cobras centre Cassandra Sant head to the bench with a right knee injury.

Remarkably, the visitors refused to yield and briefly took the lead before heading into the long interval trailing 34-31.

Despite the Lady Cobras opening the second half scoring, it was a burst from Todhunter that broke the game open as Dandenong put the foot on the accelerator and raced to a 46-33 advantage with five minutes left in the third.

Yet again Kilsyth closed the gap, this time through Moult, who nailed a pair of bombs from international waters as the Lady Rangers took a 54-46 advantage into the final quarter.

Another baseline jumper from Todhunter early in the fourth gave Dandenong a 12-point lead and the general feeling was it was only a matter of time before Kilsyth returned fire.

But every time the Lady Cobras threatened, the hosts seemed to have an answer, largely through Todhunter, who continued to terrorise the Kilsyth defence.

With a 16-point lead and under two minutes to play, Dandenong could finally afford to play out the clock as Clare Papavs’ corner triple put the icing on another championship cake.