Kereru B came away with a surprise win and UC Netball maintains its status at the top of the Premier 1 ladder after games on Tuesday night at Bishopdale.

On a high after last week's win over UC Netball, Kia Toa went into the game against Kereru B as firm favourites. But they found themselves in a real contest from the outset. Scores were level at quarter time and by half time it was Kereru who were in front by four, 29-25. Kia Toa had reduced the margin to two by three quarter time. It was a tense final quarter. In the early stages, Kereru got out by three but a run of five goals put Kia Toa ahead until Kereru responded with three in a row. From then on it went goal for goal, with Kia Toa in the unenviable position of playing catch up. At the final whistle having scored off their centre pass, Kereru secured the win by the closest of margins 55-54.

It was a disappointing result for Kia Toa, but by securing points for another close result, they maintain their ladder position.

In a high scoring game, Saints took the points against Kereru A with a seven goal win 69-62. Saints continue their good run of form, with a current run of three wins and have only one loss for the season so far to UC Netball. They will play Lincoln University in next week's final game of the round.

UC maintain their position at the top of the standings after this week's 10 goal win over Lincoln University 61-51, but lead only by one point over Saints courtesy of a bonus point from their close loss last week to Kia Toa. While UC had the best of the starts it was the third quarter that did the damage against Lincoln scoring 18-11, taking an unassailable 11 goal lead into the final quarter.

Technical had their biggest win of the season with a 73-38 result over StNicholas. Technical built on an early lead and pushed on throughout the game to record their third win for the season. Next week they will face a much more difficult contest as they come up against Kereru A, with both teams looking for a fourth win to end the first round robin. 

Premier 2 competition was set alight this week by a thrilling draw between Halswell A and Lincoln University B. Lincoln lead throughout the first half, but by three quarter time Halswell were one ahead. It was a hard fought final quarter, and fittingly the teams shared the points.

UC Netball B and Technical B also played out a close contest in a high scoring game. While nothing separated the teams at three quarter time, it was UC who took the ascendancy in the final term to outscore Technical 19-12 to win by 7, 61-54.

Kereru C and Christchurch Girls was similarly close to three quarter time, but the experience of the Kereru side came through in the final quarter as they pulled away to win by ten goals, 50-40.

St Margarets still leads Premier 2 competition having played this week's game the week prior due to representative team commitments. 

Premier 1 statistics:

Saints A 69 (M Hill 43/52, G Jones 5/8, E Halpenny 21/24) def Kereru A 62 (L Clark 46/57, S Adams 7/10, J Wolfgramm 9/11). Qtrs: 18-17, 34-31, 50-47, 69-62.

Kereru B 55 (K Ioane 47/56, S Reeves, 3/4, H Tallentire 5/10) def Kia Toa A 54 (T Boagni 46/55, E Mamea 3/7, M Wyma 3/7, S Beveridge 5/10). Qtrs: 14-14, 29-25, 42-40, 55-54.

UC Netball 61 (L Pale 40/55, R Tulisi 12/14, V Koloto 9/10) def Lincoln University A 51 (H Glen 41/46, E Wilkie 6/10, E Hargreaves 4/5). Qtrs: 17-12, 32-28, 50-39, 61-51.

Technical A 73 (J Prosser 24/30, J Allen 32/40, F Ross 17/21) def St Nicholas A 38 (N Meikle 26/40, M Prew 9/14, S Martin 3/4). Qtrs: 17-11, 39-17, 52-30, 73-38.

Premier 2 statistics:*

Halswell A 42 (J Cottam 15/21, J Lancaster 27/33) drew with Lincoln University B 42 (R Keno 13/19, J Penrose 7/12, J Riordan 22/27). Qtrs: 9-13, 20-23, 31-30, 42-42.

Kereru C 50 (S Morton 13/22, B Nuku 19/23, L Taylor 10/14) def CGHS A 40 (M Smith 33/35, E Croft 7/9). Qtrs: 8-10, 23-21, 36-32, 50-40.

UC Netball B 61 (K Lane 15/18, K Fleming 13/17, S Cusack 33/39) def Technical B 54. Qtrs: 12-15, 27-26, 42-42, 61-54.

* Some statistics unavailable at the time of writing.

Image courtesy BR Photos.

Article added: Wednesday 08 June 2022