The Rangers came out of the blocks strongly and led by five points at the first change.

But Lightning was able to stay in touch before powering away in the final term.

Adelaide centre Cayla Francis was too strong on the night, putting up 26 points and 16 rebounds. She was well backed up by Angela Marino (19 points) and Samantha Woosnam (11 points).

Stephanie Cumming relished a freer role and posted 20 points for Dandenong, including three 3-pointers in the third quarter. But Cumming had little scoring support, with Megan Moody’s nine points the next best effort from Dandenong.

The Rangers were coming off a win against Bendigo and started on fire, with successful long-range efforts from Faith Probst and New Zealand import Toni Edmonson setting up a first-quarter lead.

But Adelaide clawed its way back to be just one point behind at the end of the third quarter, before outscoring the Rangers 23-13 in the final term.

One positive for the Rangers was the return of quality point guard Nicole Hunt, who had been unavailable due to injury. She played 14 minutes for two points and five assists.

Dandenong has a chance to improve on its 1-5 start to the WNBL season when it confronts Sydney Uni Flames at Devonport on Saturday night.