Two weeks in to the Championship Round of competition and three Premier 1 teams remain beaten after Tuesday night's games.

It was a close start to the game between Saints and Kereru but Saints started to pull away after half time when the experience and combination of Ellen Halpenny and Anna Kennedy came on to court. Meanwhile at the other end, Georgia Woollett was keeping prolific Kereru shooter Liv Clark quiet. By three quarter time the difference was five and by the final whistle Saints had established a 12 goal winning margin, 52-40.

UC were clinical in their performance against Kereru B. Lina Pale lead from the front for UC and was well supported by Vika Koloto and Rose Tulisi. UC built on their lead at every quarter to eventually won by 26 goals, 72-46.

Lincoln University had a similarly impressive performance against St Nicholas, who are still without a number of key players. Hannah Glen was outstanding once again scoring 52 of Lincoln's total. Lincoln winning 72-26.

In the late game, Technical worked hard to secure their first win of the round over Kia Toa, 59-44. While it was a close opening quarter, Technical stepped it up in the second, Jess Allen taking charge at goal attack. The margin was ten by half time and with Kia Toa unable to secure enough possession in the second half the margin extended to 15 by the final whistle.

It was an exciting round of games in Premier 2 competition with two games decided by a single goal. Technical B were behind at each of the quarter time breaks, but in a tight final quarter scored 17 goals to St Andrew's 15 to take the game by the narrowest of margins. After also being behind all game, UC turned in a 10-8 final quarter to win by a single goal, 46-45.

Halswell will rue their slow start against the so far unbeaten St Margarets. A 20-13 first quarter proved the difference as Halswell thereafter matched St Margarets and also finished strongly with a 16-13 final quarter. Halswell were unlucky not to take a point from the game, while St Margarets will have also benefitted from the strong competition. Te Ata Hassan lead the way in the shooting circle for St Margarets with 51 from their total and was suitably adjudged best on court for her side.

Kia Toa B made it two from two after their promotion to Premier 2 with a solid win over Kereru C, 47 to 39. Kia Toa were more accurate in goal and scores could have been a lot closer with Kereru only have two less scoring shots.

Premier 1 statistics:

Saints A 52 (M Hill 21/26, G Jones 3/7, E Halpenny 23/28, A Kennedy 5/10) Kereru A 40 (L Clark 19/26, S Adams 9/14, J Wolfgramm 12/17). Qtrs: 14-13, 24-24, 37-32, 52-40.

UC Netball A 72 (L Pale 49/59, V Koloto 13/13, R Tulisi 10/11) def Kereru B 46 (K Ioane 34/38, M Kay 7/8, H Tallentire 5/10). Qtrs: 21-15, 39-29, 54-36, 72-46.

Lincoln University A 72 (H Glen 52/59, E Wilkie 6/13, E Hargreaves 14/20) def St Nicholas A 26 (N Meikle 11/24, M Prew 8/12, E Webb 7/11). Qtrs: 13-8, 33-13, 54-19, 72-26.

Technical A 59 (F Ross 15/20, J Allen 28/38, J Prosser 16/22) Kia Toa A 44 (E Mamea 15/18, C Corbett 16/22, F LaiKong 13/17). Qtrs: 13-11, 30-20, 43-32, 59-44.

Premier 2 statistics:

Kia Toa B 47 (B Peterson 20/28, J Williams 9/15, S Beveridge 18/20) def Kereru C 39 (B Nuku 26/31, L Taylor 12/21). Qtrs: 8-7, 17-19, 32-32, 47-39.

Technical B 57 (C Quinn 31/38, J Reuben 10/11, K Johns 10/17, H O'Keefe 6/7) def St Andrews A 56 (A Guard 44/47, M Morrow 12/15, S Caulfield 0/0). Qtrs: 16-17, 28-30, 40-41, 57-56. 

St Margarets A 60 T Hassan 51/59, E Haigh 7/11, F McQuarrie 1/1, B McQuarrie 1/2) def Halswell A 54. J Cottam 17/17, J Lancaster 20/27, C Ashton 17/21). Qtrs: 20-13, 36-24, 47-38, 60-54.

UC Netball B 46 (S Cusack 7/8, K Fleming 23/33, K Lane 16/19) def Lincoln University B 45 (J Riordan 32/41, B Milmine 13/19). Qtrs: 11-12, 23-27, 36-37, 46-45.

Image courtesy: BR Photos.

Article added: Tuesday 05 July 2022