Wenty defeat Rangers and book a spot in the finals
The Wenty Leagues WheelKings struggled early against the defensive intensity and rebounding of the Rangers with scores tied 34-34 at half-time before the WheelKings broke open the game midway through the third quarter. They pushed on to win comfortably 86-62 and guarantee themselves a spot in the 2009 NWBL Finals.
Dandenong looked good in the first 2 quarters as their 4 former Australian representatives Groenewegan, Ewin, Quinn and Message hustled all over the court and disrupted the WheelKings offence. The Rangers were in control but a 10-0 run by Wenty heading into half-time evened up the scores.
The third quarter was an even battle (40-40) when the lights literally went out with 7 minutes remaining in the period. A 10 minute break in play ensued while everyone waited for the court lights to come back on, and it was a seemingly different WheelKings team that returned to the fray. The home side closed the quarter on a 20-8 run with Bill Latham firing off a 10 point burst to put his poor first half shooting behind him.
Wenty's 26-14 final quarter completed the rout as Latham added another 10 points to tally a game-high 30. Dandenong's biggest problem was their 28 turnovers as the active hands of the WheelKings forced steals and bad passes. Jon Simon continued his terrific defensive season with 4 accredited steals but there were numerous other Dandenong plays that he broke up.
Koen Jansens was solid throughout the game with 25 points and Jon Pollock was busy setting up his troops with 18 assists. Although Wenty lost the rebounding battle 44-35, Latham was all class as he ripped down 19 boards. It was an uneven effort by the WheelKings but they showed their grit by finding a way to win when things definitely weren't going their way for 60% of the game.
All the game stats are available at http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/17/00/95/28/51eo36Cch6j0s/
The second game of the double-header at 11am tomorrow at Minto Sports Centre will see Dandenong going all out for the win in an attempt to secure the 4th spot in the finals over the Sydney Razorbacks who own the head-to-head over the Rangers. It should be a cracker!
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