It was the final games of the round robin prior to semi-finals in Christchurch Netball Centre's Premier 1 competition this week.

While semi-final places were assured for the top four teams: Lincoln University, Saints, UC and Technical, the results of these games would influence the ladder and the seedings going into the semis.

In the early game Kia Toa finished the round robin on a high, with a win over Kereru B. It took until after half time for Kia Toa to pull away with just two goals separating the teams at the main break. For the second half Kia Toa scored 25 to Kereru's 15 to win by 12, 50-38.

In what was expected to be the game of the round it was UC who took the ascendancy against Saints with a strong first quarter 24-13. But Saints fought back in the second with Ellen Halpenny making an immediate impact, and by half time Saints had reduced UC's lead to six. After a tight third term, the difference was seven and still in UC's favour. Saints would close to within two at one point during an exciting final term, but UC withstood the pressure to win by four 65-61. The result would determine who would play the top of the table by finishing fourth, and for the winner, a second semi final awaited -  the opponent would ultimately come down to the result of the late game between Lincoln and Kereru. 

Lincoln would eventually come away with a convincing win 73-45 against Kereru and earn the top of the table spot, but the match was still relatively close to half time. A dominant third quarter 26-9 in Lincoln's favour saw them pull away to produce one of their highest scores for the season 73-45. Hannah Glen was simply unstoppable in the third quarter, scoring 24/24 and would score 67 of her side's total. Lincoln will play Saints in next week's first semi final and will be looking to take this form into that game. With only four goals separating the teams in Saints favour when they last met three weeks ago, it's a match that could go either way.

The second semi final between UC and Technical will also be eagerly anticipated. Technical secured the third position on the ladder after a comfortable win over St Nicholas and while they may have been looking for a tougher contest heading into the game against UC, Technical were able to give valuable court time to all their players. When the teams last met just two weeks ago, the result was by just three goals in UC's favour.

All eight teams will play a further two weeks, the final week will determine seedings for season 2023.

In the game of the round for Premier 2, Kereru C upset UC B by one goal 55-54. Kereru came from behind by three goals at the final change to win by the narrowest of margins, earning them a place in the semi finals at the expense of UC.

Kereru will play top of the table St Margarets who had a strong 66-47 win over St Andrews, while Lincoln University B also booked themselves a place in the semi-finals with a 10 goal win over Technical B 53-43.

Lincoln will play Kia Toa B who continue to impress since moving into Premier 2. This week they had a strong win over Halswell, 53-44 and will be full of confidence going into the second semi-final.

Premier 1 statistics:

Kia Toa A 50 (C Corbett 24/37, E Mamea 16/17, F LaiKong 10/12) def Kereru B 38 (S Reeves 0/2, M Kay 1/7, K Ioane 21/22, H Tallentire 9/12). Qtrs: 15-12, 25-23, 37-30, 50-38.

Technical A 71 (J Prosser 27/32, J Allan 29/35, F Ross 15/22) def St Nicholas A 21 (E Webb 4/11, K Gallon 2/5, L Cowan 15/20, M Prew 0/3). Qtrs: 21-5, 35-9, 55-13, 71-21. 

UC Netball A 65 (L Pale 37/44, V Koloto 28/31) def Saints A 61 (M Hill 33/38, G Etheredge 3/3, E Halpenny 25/29). Qtrs: 24-13, 37-31, 54-47, 65-61.

Lincoln University A 73 (H Glen 67/71, E Wilkie 2/4, T Placid 4/4) def Kereru A 45 (J Wolfgramm 12/17, S Adams 13/18, L Clark 20/22). Qtrs: 14-10, 33-20, 59-29, 73-45.

Premier 2 statistics:

St Margarets A 66 (T Hassan 37/42, I Brown 21/24, C Coughlan 8/8) def St Andrews A 47 (K Williams 26/32, M Morrow 20/26, I Tuaine 1/1). Qtrs: 19-10, 36-23, 54-31, 66-47.

Lincoln University B 53 (J Riordan 41/48, R Keno 12/18) def Technical B 43 (K Ralph 18/26, C Quinn 15/27, C Campbell 10/17). Qtrs: 12-11, 25-24, 38-34, 53-43.

Kereru C 55 (B Nuku 44/47, L Taylor 11/15) def UC B 54 (S Cusack 32/36, K Fleming 3/4, K Lane 19/21). Qtrs: 14-11, 24-24, 38-41, 55-54.

Kia Toa B 53 (B Petersen 31/35, S Beveridge 21/27, J Williams 1/6) def Halswell A 34 (J Cottam 16/20, J Lancaster 18/23). Qtrs: 11-13, 27-18, 38-27, 53-34.

Image: BR Photos.

Article added: Wednesday 17 August 2022