DANDENONG Rangers maintained their standing inside the top four of the VJBL Girls U18 VC Championship competition after defeating the Melbourne Tigers to the tune of seven points in the closest contest of Round 7.

With just three weeks until the beginning of the postseason, each clash is crucial in shaping the finals landscape for 2025. Although the Sandringham Sabres were going to be tough to knock off from top spot, the remaining spots remain up for grabs, and the Rangers are one of the sides fighting for a top four spot.

Although the Tigers looked strong at times, making the most of hosting rights at Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre on Friday night, a strong performance in the second and third quarters saw Dandenong claim a gutsy road win and stay in fourth.

Melbourne Tigers (49) def. by Dandenong Rangers (56)

In enemy territory, it was the perfect start from the Rangers, who broke out to a 5-0 run to start the contest and take the crowd out of the contest in the opening minutes. However, it was immediately answered as the Tigers went on a 9-0 run of their own in a huge momentum swing, before the two sides ended up going back and forth for the remainder of the term. At quarter time, Melbourne held a one-point lead, and showed it was certainly up for the fight.

The Rangers showed their championship credentials in the second quarter, restricting the Tigers to just eight points for the term and slowing down the home side after their offensive burst earlier in the match. Dandenong’s offensive strategy was to attack the paint, and was a winning move as the visitors led by five points at the main change.

The Rangers continued to roll in the third quarter, pushing their lead out further as the game slipped out of Melbourne’s grasp after half time. A scoring burst to Dandenong’s Emma Anderson pressed the margin out to double-digits as the visiting side began to flex their muscles and show just how much scoring power they had. Although the Tigers did well to fight back in the closing minutes of the period, they still trailed by nine points at the final change, and had a mountain of work ahead if they were to pull off the comeback.

Impressively, the home side rallied in the final minutes of the match, finding some of their first-quarter form on the offensive end and were right back into Chloe Marais cut the margin back to just three points with her basket. However, Marianela Fakalata was all class for the Rangers at the charity stripe, sealing the match with six late free throws to ice the contest and get Dandenong to its second win since the regrading.

Fakalata was the star of the show for the Rangers, delivering a game-high 20 points in the win, and as mentioned above, delivering at the charity stripe down the stretch. Her ability to keep Dandenong’s offence ticking over at the free throw line was crucial in the result, and was the defining factor in the match.

For the Tigers, Laura Seiz led the way with 14 points, which was the most of any Melbourne player in an eye-catching display, while teammate Marais was not far behind with 12 points of her own as the pair tried to ignite their team on the offensive end.

Across the courts

The Keilor Thunder stayed in the hunt for a finals spot when they defeated the McKinnon Cougars to the tune of 14 points at Keilor Stadium on Friday night, delivering a tremendous team performance with four players registering double-digits in the points column.

Although they received a massive scare from a brave Nunawading Spectres team, the Sandringham Sabres kept their unbeaten record intact, storming home with a 23-9 final quarter to claim a 12-point win at Sandringham Family Leisure Centre.

The Eltham Wildcats travelled down the Princes Freeway and claimed an impressive win at Beyond Bank Stadium on Friday, defeating Geelong United by 10 points to stay in touch with the top-two in the standings.

Finally, the Kilsyth Cobras got the job done in a low-scoring encounter against the Bulleen Boomers at Mullum Mullum Stadium, claiming an eight-point win to stay in second spot on the ladder and firm for a home final.