Halswell took a big step towards securing its spot in club netball’s premier championship round with a victory to haul it off the bottom of the points table.

A 47-41 win over Saints at Bishopdale YMCA took it out of immediate promotion-relegation danger with two matches remaining before the Christchurch Netball Centre’s top competition moves into the championship phase.

Halswell looked like it might romp home for the victory after netting six goals to Saints one early in the first quarter but in a match high on turnovers, Saints pulled it back to within two.

Seven goals separated the two teams at half-time while Halswell led 36-31 with one quarter to play.

It was as close as Saints got in the second half as Halswell’s back three of Kenya Kavanagh-Vincent, Anna O’Dell and Sam Cording picked up key turnover ball whenever Saints threatened to close the gap on the scoreboard.

Both teams still have two games left in the round but with Saints taking on competition leaders Kereru and St Nicholas, it will be a tough ask for it to make an impact on the points table.

Meanwhile, Kereru held its place at the top of the leader board with a narrow 55-52 win over Lincoln University and Technical was made to work hard for a 61-55 victory over St Nicholas.

Despite the three goal loss, Lincoln University coach Peter McInnes was pleased with his charges performances as a string of injuries continues to limit his options on court.

The defending champion was without defender Kate Lloyd, shooter Bella James and mid-courter Laura Dorgan which was proving “challenging”.  The workload of Tactix mid-courter Charlotte Elley also had to be monitored after being involved with the ANZ Championship match the night before.

“It’s really hard to gauge just how we’re going when we still haven’t had our full squad together,” McInnes said.  “But I was stoked with that (performance) against Kereru especially after the wee melt down we had when we played them last.  It was good they stayed switched on this time.”

Wing attack Hayley Lee was a stand-out up front, hitting the circle edge and showing a clever pair of hands with some deft feeds to her shooters.

Lincoln University had levelled the scores to 42-42 at the three-quarter mark having trailed for much of the match but some “missed opportunities” late in the deciding spell gave Kereru the edge to maintain its unbeaten run this round.

Technical was also given a thorough work-out against St Nicholas and it was not until the third quarter before it built a game-winning buffer over its rivals.

Centre Mahara Feala was again strong through the middle for Technical picking up some key defensive ball for her side while proving an invaluable link onto attack.

Technical led by just one goal at the main break but netted five unanswered goal near the end of the third spell which proved the difference with the fourth quarter locked at 14-goals each.

Results:

Kereru 55 (Sophia Fenwick GS1 20/23, Julianna Naoupu GA1 9/11, Erin McDuff GS2 6/8, McDuff GA2 4/7, Naoupu GS3 16/17) beat Lincoln University 52 (Natalie Allen GS 40/50, Kate Grant GA 12/22).  Quarter scores:  17-14, 28-25, 42-42, 55-52.

Technical 61 (Chelsea Bremner GS 30/36, Tiana Placid GA 31/42) beat St Nicholas 55 (Lauren Robb GS1 12/15, Sarah Boomer GA1 15/17, Boomer GS2 19/22, Caitlin Dowden GA2 9/12).  Quarter scores:  17-13, 28-27, 47-41, 61-55.

Halswell 47 (Jess Taylor GS 17/21, Nicola Meikle GA1 29/35, Chelsea Corbett GA2 1/2) beat Saints 41 (Brianne Petersen GS 35/42, Alice Eddington GA 6/11).  Quarter scores:  15-10, 27-20, 36-31, 47-41.