Whangarei Girls triumph in new gym

The Whangarei Girls' High School number 1 team must have felt a sense of occasion as they played a proud game, defeating Takahiwai 1 65-45, in the opening night of competition at the school's new gym.
 The WGHS girls led from the beginning and never looked back, gaining points and further momentum as the game went on.
Sian Telfer at centre and Lauren Bean at goal attack fed some good ball into the circle, while Alanah Vinson at goal shoot had a strong shooting game up against some solid defence by Takahiwai defender, Belinda Dawson.
Kerri Woodman in the Takahiwai centre position was at times troublesome for her opposition to contain. On attack for Takahiwai first Reanon Sadler, then Koea Kaka, fed some good ball into the tall shooter, Ale Gwynne, but this was not enough and the younger, more athletic squad had a deserving win with a solid performance from the whole team.
There were no surprises in the match between Guyco Marist Old Girls and Good Ground Fideliter 1, also played at the new WGHS stadium.
This result was predictable, with Marist Old Girls currently ranked second and Fideliter 1 ranked eighth.
The experience and skill of the Marist Old Girls unit overpowered the Fideliter team and they never really looked in it, finally beaten 39-73.
Marist Old Girls dominated the game with clinical precision and Fideliter 1 could do little to stop them, with Old Girls really on their game.
For Fideliter 1, Emma Semenoff at goal attack played a credible game and to their credit, they never gave up.

 At Kensington Stadium, Whangarei Old Boys 1 beat Atlas Cranes Fideliter 2 66-43.
Whangarei Old Boys had a strong game against the younger Atlas Cranes Fideliter 2 team, despite some good shooting by Fideliter goal attack, Jess McClintock Maihi, and some tireless defence by Bronwyn Henderson. To their credit, Fideliter 2 remained in close contention until the end of the third quarter, when the powerful Old Boys attacking combination of Sue-Anne Davis, Trina Henare and Lara Tipene stepped up a gear, securing some good goals
in quick succession. Fideliter made a number of changes, but this did not change the final result and it was a confident boost for Old Boys.
The final match of the round was also at Kensington and featured Flames Onerahi 1 against Manawanui Old Girls. This was another good game from Manawanui Old Girls, who tested Flames Onerahi 1 throughout the court and for most of the game. However, Onerahi 1 managed to amass a lead of 10-plus goals by half time and Manawanui were not able to seriously reduce the lead.
The tussle between the Manawanui Old Girls shooting combination of Gail Shepherd and Judith Campbell against the Onerahi 1 defensive combination of Loren Weeks and Davina Cooper was a pleasure to watch and a highlight of the game.
Emma Kirner at wing defence for Onerahi 1 had a strong defensive game and Sherryn Schragg, goal attack for Onerahi 1, also had an accurate game.
Premier Results: WGHS 1 65 Takahiwai 1 45, Marist Old Girls 73 Fideliter 1 39, Whangarei Old Boys 1 66 Fideliter 2 43, Onerahi 1 55 Manawanui Old Girls 45.
Premier Reserve Results: Onerahi 2 53 Onerahi 3 39, Wahine Toa 1 62 BBC Waipu 56, Marist Social 52 Fideliter 3 42.
Next Premier games are on Friday, July 16, 2010 at KHS and WGHS gym as follows:
KHS Gym: Guyco Marist Old Girls vs Takahiwai 1; WGHS Gym: Whangarei Old Boys vs Good Ground Fideliter 1, WGHS 1 vs Manawanui Old Girls, Flames Onerahi 1 vs Atlas Cranes Fideliter 2.
All other grades don't play until  July 24, 2010 (school holidays).