This was published 7 years ago
WNBL: Dandenong Rangers leave it to overtime before beating Melbourne Boomers
By Roy Ward
Dandenong Rangers needed overtime but they finally snapped out of their summer break to claim a win over Melbourne Boomers on Saturday.
The WNBL leaders were facing a second straight loss to a struggling side, after losing to Adelaide Lightning last round, when Olivia Thompson put the Boomers up by five points in the fourth quarter.
The Rangers' Natalie Novosel makes the basket to send the game into overtime against Melbourne Boomers on Saturday.Credit: Mick Connolly
But the Rangers scrapped their way back into it as Sara Blicavs pulled in an offensive rebound which led to a three-pointer from Natalie Novosel.
With 15 seconds left the Rangers had a final possession and Novosel carved her way through the Boomers defence to notch a lay-up and tie the scores. Brittany Smart's last-ditch shot for the Boomers missed, leading to overtime.
From there the dominant Rangers poured on 17 points in the extra five minutes, with star guard Steph Cumming notching eight points as the Rangers won 73-61, claimed the Michele Timms Cup and made sure they kept hold of top spot.
Rangers import forward Ally Malott scored 24 points and eight rebounds, Novosel had 18 points off the bench, while Cumming posted 14 points, grabbed six rebounds and made five assists.
Smart's 18 points led the Boomers and Maddie Garrick scored 10 points.
The win came on the day the Rangers celebrated their 25th anniversary in the WNBL in front of almost 200 former players and coaches who came to celebrate the milestone.
Malott said her side left it late but were happy to escape with a win.
"I think everyone was a little on edge – that's why we ended up in overtime in the first place," Malott said.
"Throughout the game we were up and down, just as our last couple of games have been but I'm so proud of the team for pulling it out. We all stayed composed and pulled out some stops and some big shots in the overtime – we did what we needed to do."
Malott said their big shots in overtime showed the team was regaining the edge it had before the Christmas/new year break.
"We got the job done when we needed to," she said.
The Rangers win gives them extra room on top of the ladder after Bendigo Spirit lost a close battle with Sydney University Flames at Bendigo Stadium on Friday night.
The Flames won 71-68 after holding a one-point lead late in the game then having point guard Leilani Mitchell make two crucial foul shots.
Kelsey Griffin had a three-point attempt to force overtime but it missed, with the Flames moving into second place and the undermanned Spirit, who were playing without injured point guard Kerryn Harrington, falling out of the top four.
Griffin's 17 points led the Spirit while Blake Dietrick and Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe scored 13 points each.
Mitchell scored a game-high 25 points for the Flames while Belinda Snell had 11 points against her former club.
Flames coach Cheryl Chambers said her side stayed calm at the finish. "Both our games [with the Spirit] have been good, close games and I thought at the end we were able to keep our cool and get the win," Chambers said.
The Rangers visit Adelaide to take on the Lightning on Saturday night while the Boomers host Perth Lynx next Sunday at 3pm.
The Spirit face University of Canberra Capitals in Canberra on Saturday night at 7pm.