Netball: Double joy for rookie shooter

By JULIE ASH

In-form Canterbury shooter Angela Evans had more than one reason to celebrate at the weekend.

Not only did she help Canterbury to secure their first national provincial title in 17 years, but she won a place in the Silver Ferns squad.

The selection of Evans, 24, and the return of former Silver Fern Julie Seymour after the birth of her son, Harrison, are the only changes in the national squad, who will be reduced to 12 tomorrow for next month's series against Australia.

Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering said yesterday that Evans had first caught her eye in the New Zealand A team.

"She has been on the scene for a while now.

"Although she is not the tallest or bulkiest of players, she is very steady and consistent."

Although the Silver Ferns squad might have looked predictable, selecting it had not been an easy task.

"I am looking for quality netball where the players are being pushed to the limit," Willering said.

"Some of the games had wide scores, which meant there were a lot of substitutions.

"That gave a lot of players a run, which was neat, but didn't allow us to see the players really pushed, making it difficult to compare them."

A concern for Willering was the disappointing performances of the Auckland teams - Netball North, Auckland/Waitakere and Counties Manukau - who finished out of the top four.

"I was heavily involved with Auckland when they were a huge force to deal with," Willering said. "Now we have the numbers but not the strength, so we need to do more with those numbers."

In Saturday night's final in Invercargill, Canterbury stole the title from under Waikato's nose with a 60-58 win.

With a one-goal lead and heading into the final minute of play, Waikato went on the defensive and gave up a simple intercept when trying to retain possession.

Canterbury equalised and with time up it became a new ball game, with the winning margin needing to be two goals.

There were eight minutes of extra time, and the ball went up and down the court in search of the winner.

It was cruel luck for Waikato, who led for almost the entire match and had looked certain to win their third consecutive title.

"We'll learn from it," Waikato co-captain Jenny-May Coffin said. "It's disappointing, but it's over, it's gone, you get over it and you look forward to the next thing."

Canterbury coach Nicola Jones said: "For us to be down and come back was wonderful."

Southland secured third place with a 62-57 win over Otago.

New Zealand's top three national squads were named after the final.

A New Zealand A team, who will comprise players from the New Zealand and Academy squads, will be named tomorrow. Coached by Ruth Aitken, the A team will tour Singapore from October 15 to 20.

Silver Ferns: Sheryl Clarke (Waikato), Jenny-May Coffin (Waikato), Belinda Colling (Canterbury), Vilimaina Davu (Canterbury), Victoria Edward (Waikato), Angela Evans (Canterbury), Temepara George (Counties and Manukau), Adine Harper (Otago), Donna Loffhagen (Southland), Bernice Mene (Southland), Lesley Nicol (Otago), Anna Rowberry (Canterbury), Julie Seymour (Canterbury), Linda Vagana (Netball North), Irene van Dyk (Wellington), Anna Veronese (Canterbury), Daneka Wipiiti (Taranaki).

NZ Academy: Marie Grubb (Canterbury), Joline Henry (Waikato), Julie Kelman-Poto (Waikato), Amigene Metcalfe (Waikato), Koren Pickard (Waikato), Rachel Rasmussen (Auckland/Waitakere), Katie Richie Canterbury), Nicolette Ropati (Counties & Manukau), Jodi Te Huna (Wellington), Allison Toi (Counties and Manukau), Angelina Yates (Otago), Kylie Young (Southland).

NZ under-21: Sarah Barnes (Canterbury Black), Stephanie Bond (Otago), Katarina Cooper (Otaki College), Hayley Dawson (Auckland/Waitakere), Rachel Donnelly (Otago), Malu Faasavalu (Netball North), Kimberley Horton (Auckland/Waitakere), Chanelle Lundon (Counties and Manukau), Chantelle Ngaia (Taranaki), Krystal Opetaia (Auckland/Waitakere), Anna Scarlet (Otago u-21), Allison Shanks (Otago), Phillipa Te Hira (Counties and Manukau), Jodi Tod (Eastern), Kahurangi Waititi (Waikato Premier), Arahi Wall (Bay of Plenty).