Seventh heaven for Whanganui under-17 netball team in Netball NZ U17 Champs

Leigha Stormont in action for Whanganui. Photo / Supplied

Whanganui under-17 netball team coach Lisa Murphy said it was an "absolutely wonderful" performance from her squad that finished seventh in the Netball New Zealand Under-17 Championships.

The competition finished in Palmerston North yesterday, where Whanganui started the day with a 36-29 loss to Auckland 2 and ended their campaign by defeating Taranaki 33-32.

The team finished 11 places higher than they did in 2017.

"Four of our girls were here then, so we had that experience, but we also had a combination that have played together a few times and they gelled better and better each game," Murphy said.

Her standout of the tournament was wing defence Teagan Tapa.

"She just grew with each game, got a lot of turnover ball for us and was really consistent throughout the tournament."

The players now return to premier and school netball and await the Lower North Island Secondary Schools tournament in September.