The Dandenong Rangers were an Australian professional women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team competing in the Women's National Basketball League ( WNBL). The club is based in

Dandenong Dandenong is a southeastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, about from the Melbourne CBD. It is the council seat of the City of Greater Dandenong local government area, with a recorded population of 30,127 at the . Situated mainly ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The team was founded as the Dandenong Rangers, however before the

2019–20 WNBL season The 2019–20 WNBL season is the 40th season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Canberra Capitals were the defending champions and they successfully defended their title with a 2–0 win over Southside. The 2019–20 title was ...

began the team was rebranded to the Southside Flyers, adopting a new logo, colour scheme and nickname.

History

Historically, they have been one of the more successful franchises in league history, regularly making the playoffs, but have struggled over recent years to make the grand final, falling short in earlier stages. The Rangers appeared in the Grand Final six times, winning the championship in 2004 and 2005 both against Sydney, and then again in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

against

Bulleen Bulleen ( ) is an eastern suburb in Melbourne, Australia, 13 km north-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Bulleen recorded a population of 11,219 at the 2021 census ...

. The Rangers fell short in the Grand Final in 1992, 2006 and

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

against

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Canberra & Sydney respectively. They are strong rivals with the cross-town Melbourne Boomers. On 31 July 2019, it was announced the Rangers would undergo an entire rebrand to become Southside Flyers for the 2019–20 WNBL season. The Flyers will replace the classic bottle green and gold identity of the Rangers, with a colour scheme of aqua, navy blue, cyan blue and white expected to feature.

Season-by-season records

Source
Dandenong Rangers

Players

Final roster

Former players

Stephanie Blicavs Stephanie Blicavs (née Cumming; born 26 July 1990) is an Australian professional basketball player. Career WNBL Raised in Dandenong and playing for Rangers junior team, Blicavs joined the WNBL squad in 2006. She then gained a scholarship Aust ...

Jessica Bibby Jessica Bibby (born 23 August 1979) is an Australian sportswoman. She has played over 200 games in the WNBL and won several WNBL Championships. She has played for the Dandenong Rangers and Canberra Capitals. She was drafted by the WNBA's N ...

* Liz Cambage * Aimie Clydesdale * Alison Downie * Lucille Hamilton *

Jacinta Kennedy Jacinta Anne Kennedy (née Hamilton, born 3 May 1982) is an Australian women's basketball player, who represented the country at both junior and senior levels.FIBA Archive. 2001 World Championship for Junior WomenJancinta Hamilton Retrieved 201 ...

Kathleen MacLeod Kathleen MacLeod (born 23 October 1986) is an Australian basketball player who was part of the Australian team that won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Personal MacLeod is from Melbourne. She has four siblings, two brothers and t ...

* Emily McInerny *

Leilani Mitchell Leilani Seamah Mitchell (born June 15, 1985) is an American-Australian professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Mitchell was drafted 25th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2008 WNBA draft. A dual citizen of the United Sta ...

Jenna O'Hea Jenna O'Hea (born 6 June 1987) is an Australian professional basketball player who currently plays for the Southside Flyers in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). O'Hea is also currently the captain of Australia's national team, th ...

Laia Palau Laia Palau Altés (born 10 September 1979) is a Spanish professional basketball player, currently playing for Spanish team Spar CityLift Girona. At 314, she is the most capped player in the Spain women's national basketball team, after being in ...

* Kayla Pedersen *

Cappie Pondexter Cappie Marie Pondexter (born January 7, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. She was born in Oceanside, California and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Pondexter is known for her scrappy play, quick crossovers and midrange ju ...

*Caitlin Ryan *

Penny Taylor Penelope Jane Taylor (born 24 May 1981) is an Australian retired professional basketball player and assistant coach. During her 19-year career, Taylor spent the most time with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, where she won three championships. ...

* Samantha Thornton *

Carly Wilson Carly Wilson (born 8 July 1982) is an Australian basketball player from Victoria. She has played for several teams in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) including the Dandenong Rangers, Australian Institute of Sport, Perth Lynx and ...

References

External links

Official Dandenong Basketball Association website

Official WNBL website

Official WNBL club website

Dandenong Rangers official website
{{Melbourne Sports Teams Basketball teams in Melbourne Women's National Basketball League teams Basketball teams established in 1992 1992 establishments in Australia Sport in the City of Greater Dandenong