Dandenong Rangers have won the most unlikely of WNBL crowns, beating defending champions Bulleen Boomers 94-70 in the grand final on Sunday.
The Rangers, who looked unlikely to even make the finals two months ago, won their ninth successive match to win their first WNBL title since 2005.
Point guard Kath MacLeod was immense in a sensational team shooting performance, with 22 points and nine assists - shooting at 67 per cent from the field and winning the MVP.
Backcourt partner Jenna O'Hea was equally brilliant with 20 points, while Steph Cumming had 19 off seven-from-11 field goal shooting.
"I was sitting in the crowd last year, and I was drinking - I wanted to be out there," MacLeod said.
O'Hea remembered: "It's probably the drunkest I've ever seen her. She was sitting on the sidelines, hands in the air cheering for me, so to win it with her this year was amazing."
MacLeod's eventful match included giving coach Mark Wright a half-time spray, then limping off the floor at three-quarter-time after a Bulleen player fell across her leg as the pair tussled on the ground.
Wright admitted MacLeod's remarkable passion was part of what he wanted at the Rangers - players having their say and helping drive the team on to better things.
"She was angry. She was telling the coach we needed to fix some [stuff] up," Wright said of MacLeod's emotional outburst at him at half-time.
"We had some breakdowns (in play) and we needed to fix it.
"That's what's been going on in this group. they have a say, and they have an ear. It makes sense, and we do it."
While Bulleen's national team star Liz Cambage led her side with 22 points and 14 rebounds at a sold-out State Netball Centre in Melbourne, there were patchy contributions from her team-mates.
In contrast, the Rangers recovered from a rocky start to get the absolute maximum out of both stars and bench.
Bulleen shot out to an early 11-4 lead, before the Rangers dragged themselves back into the match with a 12-0 run - eight from Cumming - to hold an eight-point quarter-time lead.
Shooting as high as 60 per cent from the field during the second quarter, the Rangers kept their foot down as the Boomers struggled to get anything going offensively and led 41-33 at half-time.
Bulleen crept to within five points early in the third quarter, but the Rangers kept lifting.
MacLeod, who ran the floor to perfection, gave her side a late third-quarter scare when a Bulleen player fell on her leg as the pair tussled on the ground for a ball.
But heavily strapped, she returned to the court a few minutes into the final term and helped her side parlay a 14-point three-quarter time lead into a championship few expected.
Dandenong's nine-match winning streak after a poor start to the season included three wins over minor premiers Adelaide Lightning, whom they knocked out in the preliminary final, as well as the second-placed Boomers.
For Wright, it was the first top-level championship of a long coaching career at both men's and women's level.
"It's really big. I'm just so pleased I've been able to coach a team that enjoys being together, and I enjoy being with them," Wright said.
"I enjoy the whole week, every single week. It's refreshing being around them."
AAP
Tags: wnbl, basketball, sport, dandenong-3175, vic, australia, bulleen-3105 First posted March 11, 2012 17:20:41
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