St Nicholas remains in the hunt for a premier club netball semi-finals berth but will be aware it will take a step up in performance to make the play-offs.

They beat Halswell 53-48 at the Bishopdale YMCA on Tuesday night to keep them in the race for the finals series, but must beat Lincoln University next week to leapfrog the defending champions into the semi-final.

It will be no easy ask after Lincoln University continued to show they are building in form and confidence at the right end of the season after going down to the unbeaten Kereru by two goals, 47-49, while Technical beat Saints 74-34 in the other Christchurch Netball Centre premier match.

St Nicholas, which was light on the bench through the absence of mid-courter Chloe Williamson, shooter Caitlin Dowden and defender Emily Mabin, looked to be in charge by the main break having built up a 29-18 lead.

Tactix defender Olivia Coughlan picked off plenty of possession for St Nicholas while Lauren Robb and Sarah Boomer combined well in the shooting circle.

But a change in defensive personnel and a stand-out shooting performance from Nicola Meikle – where she landed all 13 attempts at goal in the third spell – gave Halswell the belief they could earn their first points of the championship round with an upset win over St Nicholas.

They trailed by just two goals with one quarter to play but a couple of key turnovers late in the game gave St Nicholas the edge they needed to pick up the competition points.

However, St Nicholas will need to address their third quarter slump – which they lost 9-17 – as they come up against a Lincoln University side which is finding form with the play-offs looming.

The university side led at every quarter against the top seeded Kereru side but maintaining their composure in a tense deciding spell proved a step too far, going on to lose the fourth stanza 11-14.

Young goal attack Bella James again showed a solid 60 minutes for her side while Lily Fletcher looks comfortable back at goal defence where she got a number of deflections for Lincoln University.

The two-goal win leaves Kereru’s record unblemished heading into a highly anticipated clash with Technical which, after a comfortable win over Saints, is also unbeaten.

Both teams sit on 16 points with one week to play before the finals series and next week’s victorious team will earn a direct path to the club final on August 30.

Technical were in control over Saints from the first quarter where they led 21-9 and 41-17 by the main break before coach Andrea Cousins made a number of  changes to her line-up.

Results:

St Nicholas 53 (Lauren Robb GS 23/27, Sarah Boomer GA 30/36) beat Halswell 48 (Harriet Fenwick GS1 6/11, Nicola Meikle GA 31/36, Jess Taylor GS2 11/14).  Quarter scores:  16-11, 29-18, 38-35, 53-48.

Kereru 49 (Sophia Fenwick GS1 11/15, Julianna Naoupu GA1 18/21, Erin McDuff GS2 6/9, Naoupu GS3 9/12, McDuff GA2 5/6) beat Lincoln University 47 (Natalie Allen GS1 17/26, Bella James GA 23/30, Kate Grant GS2 7/9).  Quarter scores:  13-15, 24-25, 35-36, 49-47.

Technical 74 (Chelsea Bremner GS 51/60, Tiana Placid GA 14/18, Maddy Lloyd GA2 9/18) beat Saints 34 (Alice Eddington GS 21/26, Taylor Rosie-Forrester GA1 11/15, Zar Fa’avae GA2 2/3).  Quarter scores:  21-9, 41-17, 57-25, 74-34.