Kalangadoo v Hatherleigh
Kalangadoo remains undefeated after the first three rounds of the Mid South East Netball Association competition, coming out victorious in Saturday’s battle of the birds.
The Magpies played their first home game, hosting Hatherleigh in warm conditions.
The game kicked off at a quick pace, with both sides working at high intensity.
Kalangadoo quickly settled with Ebony McDiarmid becoming a focal point in the goal circle and she combined effectively with Lara Munro, both converting with great accuracy.
Tegan Telfer and Erin Watson worked hard to find the space in the mid court with Kalangadoo making them work hard for every ball.
The Magpies were the first to settle and take a slight advantage going to the first break up 15-7.
The Eagles began to find their rhythm in the second quarter with Erin Watson and Telfer driving strong and finding good position on the goal circle.
Hatherleigh’s goal shooter Bree Harris found space and was able to accurately convert some nice long range shots – finishing the quarter at 100%.
Hatherleigh was able to reduce Kalangadoo’s lead to six goals going into the main break.
Hatherleigh made just one change at half time with Kalli Nettle replacing Demi Vanderhurst at GA.
Kalangadoo’s circle defence of Georgia Duncan and Georgia Gentile stepped up their intensity to make the Eagles’ goalies earn every possession.
Kalangadoo’s Lauren Kain at wing defence worked hard to limit Telfer’s feeding opportunities and created turnovers for her side.
Mid-way through the quarter Kalangadoo made positional changes in the mid court, which helped Kalangadoo to go into the final break with a lead 38-29.
Hatherleigh switched goal keepers Demi Vanderhorst and Elly Reddan mid-way through the final quarter and together with Lara McGregor worked overtime, contesting every possession in the defensive circle for the final quarter but were unable to reduce the margin.
The Magpies forged ahead with Duncan and Gentile providing plenty of scoring opportunities for the home side.
Kalangadoo defeated Hatherleigh 57-40 with Jayde Peacock and Lauren Kain named best players for Kalangadoo, while Lara McGregor and Elly Reddan were the Eagles’ best.
Kongorong v Robe
Emilie Gould worked hard in the circle applying pressure down the Hawks’ end of the court.
While at the other end of the court, the Hawks’ defensive line of Rach Perry, Emily Lightbody and Ebony Lawson adjusted quickly to Robe’s fast-paced style.
The Roosters’ shooting accuracy gave them a 10 goal lead heading into first break, up 18-8.
The second quarter was a good battle between Evie Sealey and Emile in the circle.
Robe was able to transition the ball down the court with ease, making it tough for Kongorong to cause turnovers.
The Hawks settled in the second quarter, with Evie Sealey and Tilah Buckingham able to look after the ball with some accurate feeding from Zara Vonstanke and Ebony Lawson, rewarding their side’s defensive efforts.
Annie Hunter, Lucy Perkins and Sophie Bates held strong through the middle and were able to show their experience when carrying the ball down court.
The Roosters were able to push their lead out further at half time to be up 38-22.
The Hawks went into the third quarter with work to do, led by Emily Lightbody’s and Rach Perry’s defensive pressure which caused some turnovers that proved to be beneficial for the Hawks.
Demi Carter and Sarah Laurie’s accurate shooting helped push the score out further.
The Roosters remained composed and displayed patience and skill through court and led 51-32 at the final change.
Both teams continued to fight hard during the last quarter as Robe’s defenders were able to find hands in the circle and capitalise on any missed shots by the Hawks.
Zara Vonstanke’s drives to the circle helped the Hawks transition the ball faster and score.
Lightbody and Perry still were able to work together and cause pressure in the circle making Robe’s shooters work harder to score.
The Roosters’ mid court was still able to transition the ball down court with speed making the Hawks work hard to try and cause turnovers.
The strong Robe team was able to maintain possession of the ball and play with speed and accuracy which showed on the scoreboard, giving them the win 72-44.
Robe’s best players were Sarah Laurie and Sophie Bates, with Zara Vonstanke and Rach Perry taking the honours for the Hawks.
Laurie was also awarded the Mel Tilley Anzac Medal with captain Demi Carter accepting the medal on her behalf.
Nangwarry v Mount Burr
As the first whistle blew to start this game, both teams came out firing and showing they both had something to prove.
Mount Burr was the first to score with Danika Shepherd blitzing in the goal circle, finding her range and scoring an impressive 14 of the Mozzies’ 16 goals in the first quarter.
Down the other end of the court Megan Thiele was a huge impact for the Mozzies at GK, picking off passes and her amazing pressure made Nangwarry’s goalies work overtime.
Nangwarry’s GK and captain Kayla Gray used her height and strength to pull in needed rebounds and got her hands to as many balls as possible.
The Saints were kept to four goals at the end of the first quarter and no changes were made at the break.
Once again the second quarter was an impressive 15 minutes from young gun Danika Shepherd at GA, this time shooting 16 goals, only missing one for the quarter.
Nangwarry improved with their defensive work all the way down the court, with Taysha Marshall at WD adding more pressure and making the Mount Burr attack line work harder to get the ball into their circle.
Although Nangwarry’s defence all the way through the court had improved, the Mozzies made it hard for them to get the ball down the court, picking off passes and making the most of any mistakes the young Nangwarry side made.
The joint effort of Mount Burr’s centre court players Ella Easterby and captain Laura Schultz helped the Mozzies score 22 for the quarter, while Nangwarry were kept to four again for the second term, all coming from newcomer Sheridan Sakkers.
The teams remained the same heading into the third quarter, which featured a huge improvement for the young Saints side, with both shooters Sheridan Sakkers and Lacey Neale finding their range and scoring four each for the quarter, even with the Mozzies’ GK Megan Thiele making an impact with timely intercepts and her defensive pressure.
The duo of Saints centre Alice Circelli and WA Maddi Stephens brought strength and beautiful passages of play down the court and into their goal circle.
Kayla Gray and young Jemma Glynn brought extra pressure down their defensive end, this time cutting back the Mozzies’ scoring opportunities and keeping them to just 13 for the quarter.
The third quarter featured amazing abilities and determination from both sides, with Olivia Dean in at GD for the Burr helping her team with her pace and strength down the court.
The fourth quarter was an amazing battle from both sides.
WD for the Mozzies Abbey Falting had amazing pressure, making the Saints work hard.
But Saints shooter Lacey Neale worked overtime in the circle, using her height and strength to score another four out of the six for the quarter.
Nangwarry’s defence once again had great strength and pressure all the way down the court, keeping the Mozzies to a score of only nine for the last term.
The Mozzies utilised the tactical changes in the last quarter, moving their goalies around and bringing on fresh legs in WD with Macy Burns.
Despite the Saints’ improving efforts, Mount Burr took the win 60-19.
Best players for Nangwarry were Lacey Neale and Alice Circelli, with Danika Shepherd and Olivia Dean named best for Mount Burr.
Glencoe v Tantanoola
Glencoe hosted Tantanoola in a highly anticipated preliminary final rematch.
It was a tight encounter for the majority of the game with the Murphies holding a slight lead for the first three quarters but unable to break away from the Tigers.
It was in the final quarter where the match was won as, with fatigue having set in, the Glencoe side stepped up creating turnover balls and capitalising to eventually run away with a 10 goal victory.
Both sides were evenly matched and adapted a similar game plan with both goal shooters, Chantelle Cocks for Glencoe and Emma Gould for Tantanoola, taking on a large load in the shooting circle for their respective sides.
Despite the defensive pressure applied, it seemed too little too late once the ball reached circle’s edge as both Cocks and Gould were formidable under the post.
Cocks and Gould were ably backed up by Jenna Paproth and Jami Walker who both worked hard out the front to open up the space for their focal shooting partners.
Accuracy was high from the four goalies not allowing many rebounding opportunities.
Through the mid court the battle between the Murphies’ Ashlea Pfitzner and Tiger junior Molly Cushion was intriguing.
Cushion did her best to apply pressure to the pass to Pfitzner but the experience of the Glencoe wing attack saw her hold her ground for any contested passes and control the Murphies attack line with some precision feeding.
Similarly, down the Tiger attack end Kate Varcoe controlled the tempo of play and had to wear the defensive pressure of Glencoe’s Alice Tentye.
Through the middle, Casey Walker and Donna Jaeschke provided a solid attacking option for their sides and delivered some pin point long range passes.
The game was won in the defensive ends, with the Murphies able to create more turnover balls and from that more scoring opportunities for their side.
Caitlin Hentschke and Sarah Edwards of Glencoe continued to apply pressure to Gould and J Walker in the circle despite the speed of entry and eventually started to reap the rewards of turnover balls.
In the final quarter it was the high and full court defensive pressure of the Murphies that allowed Glencoe to fly for intercept balls that was the difference.
Once the Murphies were able to break past the four goal buffer they ran away with a 71-61 goal victory.
Best for Glencoe were Cocks and Pfitzner and for Tant it was Gould and Varcoe.
