St Nicholas confirms supremacy in premier netball

Press, 25 July 1989, Page 32

St Nicholas confirms supremacy in premier netball

St Nicholas A confirmed its supremacy in the Trust Bank premier netball competition on Saturday, and Hearts A claimed second spot by beating its close rival, Riccarton A, in a disappointing match.

Riccarton had taken St Nicholas to a four-point margin the previous week, but it could not keep pace with Hearts and lost by 20 points. South Brighton beat Hagley in the other premier match to move into fourth place. PREMIER Hearts A 55, Riccarton A 35 Displaying the benefit of their recent trip to Australia with the New Zealand young internationals, Margaret Bray and Anna Pilbrow produced excellent performances for Hearts. The side played cohesively and was stronger through the court than a Riccarton team beset by errors.

At half-time Riccarton changed its playing positions, with Averil Aymes moving from goal defence to centre, Mary Irvine to wing attack, Ginny Page came on as goal keep, Sally Cooper moved to goal defence, and Penny Tait came off.

At that stage Hearts was ahead, 26-16, and although all the Riccarton players tried hard, they could not match the pace and strength of the Hearts line-up. Hearts netted 17 times to Riccarton’s seven in the third quarter, and cruised home comfortably after that.

Umpires: Jan Hefford and Linda Patterson.

St Nicholas A 57, Hearts B 47 St Nicholas took time to

settle and achieve fluency in its combination. Its progress was made difficult by a strong Hearts opening, with Sandra Wilkinson having a lively game at goal attack. Adrienne Hayes played at wing attack in the first half, giving the side stability on offence. Scores were level at the end of the first quarter, and St Nicholas clawed its way to a two-point lead by half-time. Leith McPherson made good use of space in the goal circle to help St Nicholas to a 19-8 superiority in the third quarter, and this was the vital break.

Jane Diedrichs produced a solid game at wing defence and Chris Palmer also turned up trumps for St Nicholas, directing play well. Umpires: Trudy Eden and June Woodham.

South Brighton 47, Hagley 38 Excellent shooting form by June Blay gave South Brighton a 13-9 first quarter lead, but after being six goals clear in the second period, it was pegged back to 22-20 by halftime.

Tighter defence by two inform players, Barbara Lane and Jane Hassall, boosted Brighton’s effort, and its 14-7 goal advantage in the third quarter gave it the necessary break. Grace Thompson had a sound game for Hagley, but her side could not convert possession into points. At half-time South Brighton changed its line-up, with Karen Donnell mmoving to centre, Adrienne Fox to wing attack, Kerrianne Cutbush to wing defence, while Pam

Bailey came on at goal attack and Lisa Chamberlain came off. Umpires: Jan Hefford and Patsy Tainui. SENIOR St Nicholas B 56, St Nicholas C 36 After an even first quarter, the B team opened up a big lead in the second to lead by 29-16 at half-time. The B shooters, Cathy Johnston and Anne Marie Robinson, produced strong games, as did Sharyn Hebberley at wing defence. Umpires: Margaret Murray and Kay Norris. Hearts C 47, Technical 46 Despite a barnstorming finish which produced 16 goals to 10 in the final quarter, Technical could not snatch victory from Hearts. Technical was much faster round the court, but allowed the slower style of game played by Hearts to upset its rhythm. Umpires: Tania and Kristen Lloyd.

Hagley B 48, Villa Maria 29

Villa tried Bernice Mene at goal keep, where she had a good game, but Hagley was just too strong for the young school team, pulling well clear in the final quarter. Umpires: V. Fitzsimmons and D. Jessop.

Points:— Premier: St Nicholas A 18, Hearts A 14, Riccarton A 12, South Brighton 6, Hearts B 4, Hagley 0. Senior: Hearts C 18, Technical 12, St. Nicholas B and Hagley B 10, St. Nicholas C 4, Villa Maria 0.