“Horouta picked up lots of turnover ball from the Whāngārā attack end in the second quarter,” Gisborne Netball Centre manager Allisa Hall said. “By the middle of it, Whāngārā had only scored three goals and Horouta had opened up a 12-goal lead.
“Whangara found their rhythm and pulled back a few to close the gap to eight at halftime.”
She said Horouta were dominant in the third quarter, with precision shooting helping extend their lead to 13 at the last break.
“But Whāngārā were not about to back down. They had a couple of three-goal runs to bring the score back to within eight by the middle of the quarter and the defence kept the pressure on.
“With four minutes to go the score was 46-40, with both teams finishing with a three-goal run each to end with a six-goal win to Horouta, and a bonus point narrowly missed by Whāngārā.”
YMP were in control for three-quarters of their clash with Old Girls Whāngārā, but Old Girls finished on a positive note.
“This dominant result was set from the opening minutes, with YMP scoring the first five goals of the match,” Hall said.
“Old Girls Whāngārā were depleted, with six day-registered players filling the squad, so their connections took time to settle.
“YMP picked up turnovers and rebounds and were solid under the post to go into the first break nine ahead (17-8).
“They stormed through the second quarter with two five-goal runs in the first 10 minutes.”
Experienced shooter Paku-Jane Skudder went off with a knee niggle with five-and-a-half minutes to go in the quarter, leaving a young attacking end to carry on their momentum.
“The young guns continued the flow seamlessly, and the 20-7 quarter [score] saw the girls up by 22 (37-15) at halftime,” Hall said.
“In the third quarter that flow continued, although Whāngārā slowed the run down, and the quarter ended 13-8 to YMP, which saw them take a 28-goal lead (51-23) to the final break.
“The last quarter saw more on-court changes and the Whāngārā girls finally finding their connection.
“They can take some heart from scoring the last seven goals of the game to win the last quarter 12-9 and close the gap to 25.”
Only one Premier game is being held in the YMCA on Saturday. YMP face Gisborne Girls’ High School Senior A at 10am.
“This should be an exciting match-up, with both coming into the match following a couple of strong performances,” Hall said.
“This weekend is also the start of our Under-16 representative campaign, with our U16 Kahurangi team playing in the Rotorua rep tournament on Sunday.”
