Netball Lead cut to one point

Press, 28 July 1986, Page 29

Netball Lead cut to one point

Sacred Heart moved to within one point of the lead ip the Trusteebank premier grade netball competition when it emphatically beat the top team, St Nicholas, at the Hagley courts yesterday morning. A full round of matches in both premier and senior grades was played on Saturday, but the clash between the top two sides in the premier competition was brought forward a fortnight because both teams have heavy representation in the Canterbury team to contest the national tournament. Points:— Premier: St Nicholas 22, Sacred Heart 21, Hagley 17, Riccarton 6, Burnside 5, Hornby Wycola 3. Senior: St Nicholas B 20, Sacred Heart B and South Brighton 16, St Nicholas E 12, Technical 6, Cashmere 1. PREMIER Sacred Heart 62, St Nicholas 45 An excellent combined defensive performance from the Sacred Heart trio, Jan Marshall (goal keep), Linda de Ruyter (goal defence) and Ann Bowen (wing defence), paved the way for their team’s convincing victory. They cut down the options for St Nicholas’ goal shooters, Ann Davidson and April leremia, and never let them settle into a steady shooting rhythm. St Nicholas was at full strength for the vital game, while Sacred Heart was missing Its regular defensive player, Anne-Marie Shah, who was on representative duty in Ashburton. - With Sacred Heart’s goal shooters, Stephanie StokesWashington and Diana Houghton in good touch, it bolted to a 21-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. It retained that 12-polnt advantage to be ahead, 34-22, at half-time; and increased the gap to lead, 47-29, by the end of the third quarter, making the final period of only academic interest. Hagley 60, Burnside 43 This game was not as close as was expected after Burnside’s surprise win over Hagley in the last round. Hagley

seemed the’more determined and was possibly encouraged by its resounding 55-goal win over Riccarton the previous week-end.

Hagley led comfortably at each quarter, • and surprisingly, Bumside failed to hold Hagley even in the early stages.

Bagley's excellent feeding into the circle was a big advantage, as was the accuracy of its shooting. As well, Hagley’s defence disturbed the rhythm of Bumside’s shooting. The latter’s vigorous mid-court work was nullified somewhat as a result of its failure to get the ball into the net

Hagley increased its lead from 11 to 22 by the end of the third quarter. Bumside fared slightly better in the last quarter, but by this stage Hagley’s dominance was too deeply entrenched. St Nicholas 66, Riccarton 34

Riccarton surprised with its early confidence, especially after Its big loss a week earlier.

Sue Bradshaw was back at goal-attack and Tracey Taylor filled In again, this time at goal-shoot Another addition was the goal-defence, Tania Ronald, who played for Riccarton last season. Riccarton held its own exceptionally well in the first quarter, leading almost all the way, and making it hard work for.the experienced St Nicholas team to get into gear.

Riccarton’s moves worked effectively, and its safe securing of the centre pass acted as a great leveller in the early part of the game.

However, its run was short--lived. St Nicholas returned after the break with more purpose, powering to an 11goal lead by half-time.

St Nicholas elected to stick with its initial line-up for the whole match. Angela Pule played at goal-attack. Her success in this position proved that she is as equally talented In an attacking position as a defending.

St Nicholas never looked back after the second quarter and was 20 points ahead by the end of the third spell. It

scored even more heavily in the last quarter. Sacred Heart 67, Hornby Wycola 36 Sacred Heart must have been tired. Only two hours earlier it had finished its long Swiss Maid Challenge match against College Old Girls, yet there was little sign of this as it scored an impressive win over Hornby.

Never really displaying its usual determination Homby failed to make much impression at all in the first quarter. Sacred Heart took advantage of this, and was 18-5 ahead after the first quarter. Sacred Heart attacked particularly well, and the goalattack, Diana Houghton, the wing-attack, Anna Richards, and the centre, Adrienne Hayes, built up a solid combination through the midcourt, which Hornby found hard to disrupt SENIOR St Nicholas B 50, Sacred Heart B 41 This clash between the two top senior teams had exciting moments as well as frustrating ones.

St Nicholas made a tremendous start, scoring 10 goals in the first 15 minutes. In the second quarter, Sacred Heart settled down

more, using well-practised moves and netting accurately. It slowly bridged the gap and actually led by one goal at half-time.

St Nicholas worked hard from then on, and the defence in the circle of Karen Burrows and Cieran New was a key factor in its success.

Sacred Heart suffered a loss of concentration in the third quarter, which allowed St Nicholas to surge ahead yet again. However, a bright spot in Sacred Heart’s game was the unwavering determination of its goal-defence, Ann Bowery. The last quarter belonged to St Nicholas, and there was much to admire about its goal-shooting. It missed only 16 goals in the entire match, its lowest tally all season. South Brighton 48, Technical 34 This was a good match for South Brighton, as it played well in all four quarters. From the outset, it blocked Technical’s centre pass most effectively, forcing its opponent into errors. Technical's passing throughout the match was not as sharp as in previous matches, and it had difficulty in moving the bail through the mid-court

South Brighton led by three

goals at the end of the first quarter, and six goals by halftime. Technical improved in the third, quarter and the margin was not increased, however.

In the first quarter, South Brighton was more assertive, and a tight defence played an important part in its clear-cut win. St Nicholas E 54, Cashmere ' ' 44 This was a fairly straightforward win for St Nicholas in spite of a brave third quarter by Cashmere. St Nicholas gradually built up an 11-goal lead by halftime. It fed the ball tidily to Biddy van der Kroon in the circle and Jan Sherratt played especially well at wing-defence.

Cashmere, by comparison, was slow and given to errors, especially missed passes. But in the third quarter, Cashmere recovered to score 15 goals to St Nicholas’ 10. This brought it within seven goals of St Nicholas. Sarah Rooney, at goal-keep, gave a good display in this period, gathering many inter-: ceptions which Cashmere used well. St Nicholas had a better first, half than second, yet it was in little danger in the last quarter, improving its lead by three goals to 10.