A poor second quarter in yesterday's first game cost Hawke's Bay a top-10 finish at the national under-17 netball tournament in Pukekohe.
The Lee-Anne Taylor-coached Hawke's Bay side lost 37-35 to Eastern Bay of Plenty in its first outing after losing the second quarter 9-6. The Bay bounced back with a 49-34 win against North Harbour Two in the playoff for 11th.
As the score suggests the Eastern Bay of Plenty game was a tight affair. The circle defence pairing of Bree White and Valentine Kahukura worked hard to confuse the space and created multiple intercepts and wing defence Jaimee Tapine drove the ball strongly through the court.
Hawkes Bay trailed 10-8 after the first quarter and 19-14 at halftime after Eastern Bay of Plenty dominated the second quarter. This five-point margin was still there at the start of the final quarter.
Hawkes Bay put in a massive effort on defence and converted on attack through Imke Kitchin and Janayah Lewis in the attacking circle. However they ran out of time against a team which boxed above their weight at the tournament and went on to finish 10th, a mighty effort considering their player base is much smaller than Hawke's Bay's.