Netball: Sizzling Rebels remove lustre from Diamonds

By Sarah Nealon

Sweltering temperatures had the Otago Rebels seeing stars in their sizzling 59-52 win over the Auckland Diamonds in the national netball league yesterday.

But they were not the only team to feel the heat.

In Palmerston North, 16-year-old Daneka Wipiiti got the better of New Zealand's most experienced defender to spark the upset of the Coca-Cola Cup so far - the Western Flyers thrashing last year's runners-up, the Southern Sting, 52-38.

There were close encounters in other parts of the country - the Northern Force narrowly beating the Canterbury Flames 48-46 and the Cometz holding off the Magic 62-58.

A hot and sticky indoor stadium in Auckland saw two Otago players taken off the court after they began feeling dizzy and overheated.

Rebels coach Georgina Salter said goal-attack Adine Harper and goal- defence Kylie Young - the new players in the side - struggled with the heat that they were not used to in Dunedin.

"The heat was awful. Adine and Kylie were hallucinating," she said. "Adine was hyper-ventilating and had to have damp cloths on her face and drink lots of water."

But the warm conditions did not stop the visitors from showing the crowd why they are reigning champions.

The Rebels started with a roar, eight points up at the end of the first quarter.

The Diamonds, led by feisty mid-courter Megan Dalgety, fought back to within four, until the final 10 minutes.

At the Rebels' goal end, the ball was fed smartly into the circle as shooters Jo Steed and Harper found it seemingly easy to create the space. The Diamonds defence could not keep up.

Down the other end of the court, goal-attack Kylie Hall found it difficult to break away from the towering presence of Otago defenders Young and Katie Fay.

"Katie was a strong player. She had quick feet and a good head," said Salter.

She was thrilled to notch up two wins away from home without Silver Ferns captain Belinda Colling, who was playing basketball for New Zealand.

Also playing basketball for her country was the Sting's Donna Loffhagen, and she was sorely missed by her side as they suffered a shock loss to the unfancied Flyers.

Teenage shooting star Wipiiti had little trouble up against Bernice Mene, the Sting's key defender.

At halftime the Flyers were leading by only three, but in the third quarter they stormed to a 15-goal lead.

Despite introducing former Silver Fern Julie Carter to goal-shoot, the Sting continued to struggle.

Goal defence Dionne Moors was the standout performer for the Northern Force in their nailbiting win away from home over Canterbury.

Her side had a three-goal advantage over the home team in the first and second spells, but increased the lead by five at the end of the third quarter. Margaret Foster at wingattack kept the Flames in the game.

After a close loss to Otago on Friday night, the Cometz had their first win of the season, denying neighbours Waikato-Bay of Plenty their first-ever Cup win.

The Magic lost shooter Tania Nicholson with a back injury, while the Cometz defenders Leigh Price and Koren Pickard dominated the game.