Netball Close games in rain

Press, 4 July 1983, Page 23

Netball Close games in rain

Rain-swept conditions did not prevent some close and exciting netball in the second round of the second section of the Canterbury Sports Depot senior netball competition on Saturday. St Nicholas upset Burnside to take a single-goal victory. Lynne McLennan’s leadership in this closely-contested match earned her the Canterbury Sports Depot player of the day award.

Sacred Heart A remains the other unbeaten team in Senior A with a comfortable win over Hagley. Riccarton defeated Sacred Heart B by five goals, after trailing at half-time. In Senior B, Teachers A and South Brighton had wins to remain unbeaten in this section of the competition. Teachers beat Burnside B by a handy nine goals and South Brighton were eight goals ahead of Teachers B at the end of its match. Technical chalked up the highest score of the day in its triumph over Burnside C by 37 goals to 14. Technical 37, Burnside C 14 Technical took an early lead and never looked troubled by the Burnside team. Joyce Rueben netted all the possession that came her way to give her side a handy lead of eight goals before Burnside scored its second goal. The Technical players outplayed their opponents and the Burnside team had little answer to Technical's game. Showers made the ball difficult to hold and the game was marked by dropped catches and misdirected passes. Ahead by 12 goals at the interval Technical extended its lead in the second half. Burnside, although outplayed, never relaxed its effort and the defence picked up several interceptions and loose passes. Unfortunately much of that possession was lost further up the court. Eliza Quinn had another hard-working match for Technical at goal attack, taking most of the centre passes. For Burnside the defence duo, twin sisters, Joe Howie and Wendy Burrows, worked tirelessly and Karen Phair had a sound game at centre. The umpires were Jan Hefford and Alva Morgan. Riccarton 20, Sacred Heart B 15 Riccarton proved too strong in the final 10 minutes for an unlucky Sacred Heart team. Sacred Heart began strongly, taking the lead. Scores were levelled at 5-all and a Sue Bradshaw penalty shot gave Riccarton the lead. One goal ahead at the interval the side lost concentration temporarily at the beginning of the second half. Sacred Heart lifted its game and regained the lead. Riccarton regrouped, and with confidence inspired by Diana Nelis’s shooting, fought back. Scores levelled again at 14-all. As in the first half a Sue Bradshaw penalty shot took Riccarton into the lead. Determined work, with good leadership from Lynne Rowe, in the centre, saw Riccarton pull ahead. Sacred Heart was unable to prevent the Riccarton shooters netting their shots. Limited second-half shooting opportunities, particularly in the last few minutes, gave Sacred Heart little chance of closing the deficit. Riccarton was fortunate it did not leave its finishing burst any later, as the Sacred Heart side played one of its better games. Louise Richardson, in her first game for Riccarton, made a significant contribution in the defence. Her height made shooting difficult for Sacred Heart. The umpires were Joan Swift and June Woodham. South Brighton 31, Teachers B 23 South Brighton notched up a good win in wet conditions against Teachers. The college side had an excellent first half

and trailed by a single goal at the interval.

Starting slowly the side gathered momentum through the half, pegging back a sixgoal deficit to level the scores at 8-all.

Verna Kelly, the South Brighton goal defence, anticipated well and took many interceptions, providing her shooters with extra possession. She also supported her team mates well down the court, taking several passes. From a 15-14 lead at halftime South Brighton lifted its performance throughout the court to draw clear. Raylene Maxwell and Kaye Patrick netted a higher percentage of their shots and aid not waste possession passing the ball about in the goal circle. Teachers seemed to lose application in the second spell and lapses in concentration saw it lose possession through dropped passes. Nicky Hudson, at wing defence, had a good first half but could not sustain that effort in the second half. The shooters also had difficulty turning possession into points.

The cold temperatures were responsible for many of the mistakes in the match.

The umpires were Trudi Eden and Chris Anthony. Teachers A 29, Burnside B 20

Sue Everest led a determined Teachers side to victory in a match that saw both teams make errors. Teachers was the stronger side. More possession and better shooting gave it the advantage. Everest had a good captain’s game at wing attack, supplying good ball to her shooters. Nicky Power, at goal attack, and Leigh Bartlett, goal shoot, netted a respectable percentage of their shots. The first half was close in court play, in spite of an eightgoal margin in the score. Burnside played determined netball but did not score enough goals.

Teachers continued its effort in the second half, gaining the advantage in general court play. Leonie Young had a fine game at centre, marshalling the team from that position.

Teachers was without its usual wing defence, Anne Kersley, but the combination was not weakened by the inclusion of Jane Clifford on the wing. The ball moved smoothly through the court. Burnside pulled back one goal in the second half and scored 10 goals in the spell to Teachers’ nine. However, the first-half deficit was too great. For Burnside Karen Baker, at centre, played well ably supported by the wing attack, Karen Johnstone, and the wing defence, Alice Bendall. The umpires were Annette Orangi and Patsy Tainui. Sacred Heart A 26, Hagley 10 In spite of its improved form Hagley simply could not match the stronger Sacred Heart team. Individual players turned in some good solo performances but the team lacked combination.

Linda Parnham, at centre, chased hard all day, making the Sacred Heart centre, Karen Erickson, work to clear her passes. Cindy Poole, at wing attack, also had a determined match, picking up a lot of loose ball. Sacred Heart was never troubled, although only five goals ahead at the interval. The side did not play with its usual control and several of the players obviously did not relish the conditions. Diana Sullivan shot well in the conditions.

Sacred Heart scored 13 goals in the second half before Hagley added to its half-time score minutes before time. The Hagley shooters were just not able to put the ball through the hoop. Hagley added one more goal to its score to finish 16 goals behind.

The umpires were Allison Elder and Chris Anthony. St Nicholas 34, Burnside 33

Rain pelted the court as St Nicholas and Burnside began the last senior match of the day. Burnside was strengthened by the return of its New Zealand representative, Wai Taumaunu, but it was St Nicholas that began the better. Consistent shooting from the Canterbury player, Ann Davidson, saw it take a 7-6 lead. Burnside gathered its game and reversed the situation to 12-8 in its favour.

Miss Taumaunu played at centre for Burnside and provided many driving passes through the court to her attack. St Nicholas finished the first half with a strong burst to take it one goal ahead, 18-17. A strong start to the second half in driving rain allowed Bumside to regain the lead. Jan Pickering shot accurately under pressure from the St Nicholas goal keep, Barbara Kreft. St Nicholas slipped to a four- goal deficit but lifted its game, led by captain, Lynne McLennan, to level the scores at 32-all.

Each side scored again to take the score to 33-all. A penalty shot to Davidson in injury time gave St Nicholas a deserved win.

The umpires were Jan Hefford and Annette Orangi.

Points.— Senior A: Sacred Heart A, St Nicholas, 4; Riccarton, Bumside A, 2; Hagley, Sacred Heart B, 0. Senior B: Teachers A, South Brighton, 4; Teachers B, Technical, 2; Bumside B, Burnside C, 0.

Senior C results: Sacred Heart 22, Riccarton 17; Cashmere 20, South Brighton 19; St Nicholas 27, Sacred Heart College 24. Points: Cashmere, St Nicholas, 4; South Brighton, Sacred Heart, 2; Sacred Heart College, Riccarton, 0.