St Paul's Collegiate and Waikato Diocesan play out netball thriller

Annalies Kalma, C for St Peters Premier. Photo / Judy Macdonald

This week was the third game of the third round and the closest games for those among teams in Pool 2. In particular St Paul's Collegiate Open A and Waikato Diocesan Open A had a great tussle and the game see-sawed throughout.

St Paul's ended the first quarter with a four-goal lead only for the score to be drawn at 20-all at half time with Waikato Diocesan having a great second quarter.

Waikato Diocesan had an impressive third quarter to lead by 11 goals. They also won the final quarter by two goals to take the game 57-44. Overall a great spectator match and great game.

Waikato Diocesan started slow and the opposition had them on the back foot in the first quarter. In the second quarter the team found their rhythm, and in the third they played to the game plan.

They pressured the ball at every stage defensively including hunting down ball and moving it quickly through court. Phoebe Tumata at goal defence and goal keep led the defensive effort with a high number of intercepts and rebounds.

This motivated the attack end to place pressure in the midcourt and they were rewarded by forcing errors.

Alice Wilkinson at goal attack played a great game moving the circle defence to give captain Chelsea Whittaker and goal shooter room to take clean ball.

Sophie Reeves at wing attack and moving to goal shoot, and Olivia Fellows-Ford moving from wing defence to wing attack showed diversity by moving into unfamiliar positions and playing them well. It was a solid team effort. For St Paul's they will be disappointed they could not continue their momentum after a good start.

Shayla Rata, WA for Iwi Karearea Premier. Photo / Judy Macdonald

Verdettes Marist Premier started slowly in their game against University of Waikato Premier Reserve and they trailed by one goal at the end of the first quarter. But by half time they led by five goals with the score 28-23.

They then had big third and final quarters winning both to win the game 57-42. The Marist team went from strength to strength in this game. For Marist Premier it was great to finally get a complete performance. Everything just seemed to click and basic errors were minimal.

There were some great passages of play and to win by a margin was awesome for team confidence. Melissa Bowkett at wing defence and wing attack had her best performance and the shooting circle consisting of Chloe Pennell at goal shoot and Erana Taylor at goal attack worked brilliantly together.

For Uni Premier Reserve they were pleased with their start in the first quarter but disappointed that they couldn't maintain the close margin for the entire game. Basic errors and difficulties bringing the ball through the court latter in the game got the better of them.

Ashley Maylor at goal shoot had another strong game and despite a niggly ankle took many contested balls in the air. Overall al close and competitive game.

The other competitive game was that between Hamilton Girls' High Premier and FTNC Premier Reserve. Hamilton Girls started competitively and had a good 11-goal lead at the end of the first quarter but in the second quarter they only increased their lead by one goal.

The half time score was 34-22. Hamilton Girls then had a massive third quarter to lead by 23 goals. FTNC Premier Reserve showed some spark in the final quarter and they did win this by six goals but it was all too little too late. The final score was 64-47.

In the pool 1 games St Peter's Premier and Verdettes Marist Old Girls had a good game and the first quarter was lively and competitive. By half time however Marist Old Girls had taken a lead of 13 goals with the score 36-23. They then had a big third quarter further increasing their lead but St Peter's won the final quarter by two goals. The final score was 65-45 goals.

University of Waikato Premier continued their dominance but this was quite a competitive game overall against FTNC Premier. Uni Premier was ahead by nine goals at end of first quarter and were winning 27-14 at half time. They then had a strong third quarter with the final quarter a lot closer. Final score was 56-31 and FTNC Premier were punished by a very slow start and a lacklustre third quarter.

In the final game Nottingham Castle Rangers had another good showing in their game against Iwi Karearea Premier. They lead by four goals at the end of the first quarter but at half time the score was 31-20. Castle Rangers stepped it up in the third quarter to lead by 27 goals but had a low scoring final quarter allowing Iwi Premier to win this by two goals. The final score was 65-40.

The competition now takes a two-week break for school holidays and for North Island U15 Championships and U17 Netball NZ Championship competitions to occur. Next game will be 25 July.

Results

St Peter's Premier 45 vs Verdettes Marist Old Girls 65
St Paul's Collegiate Open A 44 vs Waikato Diocesan Open A 57
Iwi Karearea Premier 40 vs Nottingham Castle Rangers 65
University of Waikato Premier Reserve 42 vs Verdettes Marist Premier 57
Hamilton Girls High Premier 64 vs FTNC Premier Reserve 47
FTNC Premier 31 vs University of Waikato Premier 56