Sacred Heart wins again

Press, 27 May 1985, Page 21

Sacred Heart wins again

Sacred Heart Old Girls continued the fine form it displayed in beating B.N.Z. Wellington East three weeks ago with a 75-62 win over another Wellington side, Pacific Island Church, in a Swiss Maid national netball league match at South Hagley Courts on Saturday. The Christchurch team

finished the league with two wins in five games. The two teams displayed a different brand of netball. Pacific Island Church played a game filled with spectacular-looking shots and took risks, attempting difficult manoeuvres which, when they came off, were very effective. Sacred Heart, on the

other hand, played a far steadier, more calculated game, reading the play well and making the best use of its excellent combination. In the first quarter, Sacred Heart looked set to dominate, gaining possession more frequently and flowing smoothly. Its shoots, Stephanie Stokes and Diana Sullivan, showed their talent

and netted faultlessly. Both had just returned home after a very successful tour of the Pacific Islands, playing for the Young New Zealand team. At the end of the first quarter, Sacred Heart had run away to a comfortable lead of 12-5. In the second quarter, Sacred Heart passed accur-

ately and made the most of its opportunities in the circle. The players were particularly good at setting up the ball for their shoots, using short, sharp passes and bounce passes. In Pacific Island Church’s circle, Jenny Redman again showed her skill as goalkeep. She gained possession and rebounds off the most difficult shots and was never caught off guard. In the second quarter the strong Wellington girls made use of their strength, stepping up the pace of the game with their solid passing. They threw several long passes down the court to their circle in an attempt to level the score by giving their shoots more chances at goal. They had made four changes in position after the first quarter. Rita Fatialofa was moved from centre to goal-attack, Deslea Wrothall changed from wing-defence to centre, Anna Wuffli moved from goal-attack to wing-attack and finally the wing-attack, Marianne Reid, changed to wing-defence. After these adjustments, Pacific Island Church stepped up its accuracy and at this point made a concerted effort to catch up and take the lead.

Margaret Matenga, at goal-shoot, shot extremely well for Pacific Island Church, making use of her long reach and height. In spite of this attempted comeback, Sacred Heart never relinquished its position, having a comfortable lead at half-time. After the break, Pacific Island Church kept up its solid attack, and Sacred Heart, reluctant to throw away its hard-fought lead, reacted with several loose passes and attempted goals.

However, Sacred Heart was quicker to the loose ball than its opponents and the real confidence-booster occurred when Sacred Heart’s centre, Leigh Gibbs, threw’ an impressive pass down the whole length of the court to Sullivan, who netted it with ease. The crowd's cheers did much for Sacred Heart's morale and it carried on to lead 57-44 at the end of the third quarter.

Pacific Island Church, now desperate to make up for lost goals, played aggressively, netting quickly and convincingly. Unfortunately, it had left its run too late, and Sacred Heart's 14-goal lead was too much of an obstacle to overcome in such a short time. In the end, Sacred Heart's skill and tenacity paid off. Umpires: L. Miles and A. Orangi.