Dandenong coach Larissa Anderson has been left to lament her team's horror WNBL schedule as the Rangers' season hangs in the balance heading into final round.
The Rangers were forced to wake up to a 4.15am alarm call in Townsville on Saturday morning to travel down to Sydney for their second match in the space of 24 hours.
Dandenong lost both matches, falling 83-66 on Friday night to Townsville before running out of steam on Saturday against first-placed Sydney and giving up a six-point three-quarter time lead to lose 81-77.
"Having to get up at 4.15am to catch a flight to play a second game in 24 hours - I don't think any team should be asked to do that," Anderson said.
"I'm sure every team has gone through it, but for us, timing wise at the moment to go through this to face two teams with single games - it's hard.
"I would say fatigue played a massive part."
The Rangers (14-9) must now beat Perth on the road next weekend to wrap up a finals spot, or else hope Canberra lose to either wooden-spooners Adelaide (2-20) or third-ranked Townsville (14-9), who are already safe on head-to-head series records.
Canberra (12-10) kept their season alive with a 77-52 win over Bendigo on Sunday.
In what was a must-win match for both teams, the Capitals dominated the boards - claiming 42 rebounds to their opponents' 33.
Meanwhile, Perth wrapped up their finals spot with an 87-81 overtime win over Melbourne.
The Boomers had a chance to win it on the buzzer in regular time, but a Rebecca Cole two-point shot missed before the Lynx were too strong in overtime.
Melbourne had earlier assured themselves they would finish ahead of Brisbane in seventh with a 85-72 win on Friday night between the two bottom-ranked teams.
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