Netball: Force in first-up thriller

By JULIE ASH

The North Island went one up on the South in the national league when the Force edged out the Flames in a nerve-rattling finish in Christchurch yesterday.

In the best game of the the National Bank-sponsored competition's opening round, the Canterbury Flames came within moments of completing one of the best comebacks in the league's history, recovering from a 12-goal first-quarter deficit to take the lead with just minutes remaining.

Just when it looked as though last year's beaten finalists had the game in the bag, the North Shore-based Force defence struck a key blow to set up a 54-53 victory - their first win over the Flames since the franchise competition began in 1998.

Force coach Maria Lynch said that, although nerve-racking, it was great to have pulled off the win in Flames territory.

"We always like to leave things till the last minute," she said. "It is good to have the win but it was a real nail-biter."

The North Harbour team started like they meant business, taking a 21-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Newcomer Daneka Wipiiti was in fine touch, netting 18 shots from 22 attempts in the first quarter.

After the break, the Flames switched goal shoot Angela Evans and goal attack Belinda Colling - a change that was repeated several times in the game.

With Vilimaina Davu recovering from injury, Anna Veronese and Belinda Charteris worked hard on defence while at the other end of the court Evans and Colling combined well to help close the gap to 34-25 at halftime.

At three-quarter time the Flames trailed by four. Then they took the lead in the final few minutes of play.

But with time running out, Force defenders Linda Vagana, Kate Dowling and Sheryl Clarke pressured the Flames into error which resulted in a Wipiiti goal.

"If only we could have played four quarters like our first," said Lynch.

The player of the game had to be 19-year-old Wipiiti, who netted 46 shots from 57 attempts. The former Western Flyers player, who is in her first year with the Force, showed an uncanny ability to slot shots from anywhere in circle within a second of receiving the ball.

"She is pretty laid-back, pretty cruisy, which is good as you can't have a shooter who gets caught up in the game," said Lynch.

The win puts the Force at the top of the table along with the Southern Sting, who thrashed the Otago Rebels 64-32, and the Bay of Plenty/Waikato Magic, who beat the Counties Manukau Cometz 55-31. The Capital Shakers had the bye.

But it's back to the drawing board for the Auckland/Waitakere Diamonds, who drew 45-all with the Western Flyers in Auckland on Saturday night. In a game where the importance of a good warm-up is constantly preached, the Diamonds fumbled and bumbled through their pre-game drills, despite co-captain Anna Rowberry's best efforts to rally her troops.

The game wasn't much better. The Diamonds worked up a good lead midway through the second quarter but managed to blow it - mainly through bad passing.

The Flyers played good basic netball - short, sharp passes that were finished off by shooters Charissa Wilson and Kelly Butler.

The Diamonds led 24-21 at halftime and 35-33 at the three-quarter break.

It was the first game of the league and the Diamonds did show patches of brilliance - but to draw against the team expected to finish last in the competition is a concern.

"We got in each other's way, we didn't use our space wisely," said Diamonds coach Georgina Salter. "We paused with the ball and told our opposition who we were going to pass to and there was a lot of missed timing - those little things make major differences. But it is early days yet."