St Nicholas A vs Saints A

This encounter had the makings of a close hard fought battle. Saints scored first thanks to a fabulous intercept in their defensive circle as the game began. This set the tone as Saints were relentless in their defensive circle, working as a team and picking up ball. St Nicholas were hot on defence as well, forcing Lauren Sim to take a lot of shots from out wide, but the Saints shooter was up to the challenge.  At quarter time it was 13-11 to Saints.

St Nicholas intercept the first pass of the second quarter to score and then have a chance to equalize off their own pass but don’t. However some rare mistakes by Saints saw St Nicholas take a one goal lead.  Notably; there were several footwork calls against both sides in this quarter. At half time it was 22-21 to Saints.

At the half time break St Nicholas brought on Stacey Peeters to C and the rangy Emma Hamilton to GK. Saints brought on Alice Eddington at GS and Lauren Sim went to the bench. The new line up didn’t settle for Saints and St Nicholas surged to a 5 goal lead with Emma Hamilton picking up plenty of ball. Saints called time and put Lauren Sim back on. At three quarter time it was 34-28 to St Nicks.

In the last quarter St Nicholas held their nerve and seemed to have confidence in themselves to do the job. Kerri-Ann Sinclair kept a cool head, shooting and moving well. There were still intercepts to be had for both teams but St Nicholas ran out the winners 47-36.

Halswell A vs Lincoln University A

This game started out quite tight, with Lincoln’s zone forcing Halswell to pass back. But Halswell managed to find their shooters better than they have at other times and managed to score 10 goals in the quarter. 18-10 to Lincoln at quarter time.

Lincoln took the opportunity to give game time to the majority of their squad, with regular changes throughout the game. In response Halswell also made changes but their ability to score was inconsistent. 34-15 to Lincoln at half time.

Bella James came on for Lincoln at half time and she immediately set to work in the GA position scoring freely. 51-23 to Lincoln at three quarter time.

In the last quarter Lincoln seemed to be finding space easily with some slick through court passing. Halswell would have missed their reliable and steadying captain Jen Boyd who sat out the game. Full time 65-30 to Lincoln.

Kereru A vs Technical A

Billed as the match of the round, this was a much anticipated clash.  No one, least of all Technical, would have expected to be leading 21-5 at quarter time. But that is exactly what happened. Technical started with Gemma Hazeldine at C  and Anna Thompson and Jess Prosser in the shooting circle. Kereru were without Juliana Naoupu who was sick, and Sophia Fenwick, who had been called up into the Tactix squad.  Technical seemed to be getting a hand to everything right from the get go and shot out to an early lead. Then they just kept going and surged ahead. Kereru changed Rachel Horrocks from WD to C and this did give them more penetration but it wasn’t enough to stop a rampant Technical. 21-5 to Technical at quarter time.

In the second quarter Technical brought on Tiana Placid to GA, Anna Thompson moved to WA and Chloe Williamson came on to C. Despite the rather formidable opposition and the shock of the first quarter Kereru fought hard and clawed back some ground. Claudia Lewis shot very well for Kereru and she certainly had to work very hard. The feeders for Kereru were finding it hard to find Maia Hill at GS meaning Lewis had to take the load. 35-20 to Technical at half time.

At the half time break Kereru made the bold move of shifting Kereana Harris to GS. It was worth an attempt to try and see what a more mobile shooting circle could do. The very versatile Kayla Williams went to GK for Kereru. Meanwhile Tiana Placid off for Technical and Anna Thompson back in to the GA position. Unfortunately for Kereru the changes did not have the desired effect and Technical won the quarter 20-4 making it 55-24 to Technical at three quarter time.

In the last quarter Technical made a couple of changes but their forward line was the same and just kept trucking on. Moving Kereana Harris to GA seemed to open things up for Kereru and Claudis Lewis continued to impress with her shooting. Jess Prosser for Technical showed some good space for her feeders. An improved quarter for Kereru, but a huge and very well deserved win to Technical 70-34.  

Premier 2:

St Margarets A 61 def CGHS A 38
St Nicholas B 55 def STAC 33
Kereru B 62 def Kia Toa A 41

Statistics:

Lincoln University A 65 (Annabel Adams GS 21/45, Kate Grant GA1 23/27, Bella James GA2 21/25) def Halswell A 30 (Ali Doig GS1 7/8, GS3 11/14, Alisha Muir GA 10/18, Megan Oliver GS2 2/2). Quarter scores: 18-10, 34-15, 51-23, 65-30.

St Nicholas A 47 (Sarah Martyn GS 21/24, Kate Sinclair 26/34) def Saints A 36 (Danielle Kerwin GS1 11/13, GA2 1/1, GS3 6/6, Lauren Sim GA1 11/16, GA3 4/6, Alice Eddington GS2 3/4). Quarter scores: 11-13, 21-22, 34-28, 47-36.

Technical A 70 (Kia Ralph GS1 17/17, Anna Thompson GA1 4/5, GA3 8/8, Tiana Placid GA2 4/5, Jess Prosser GS2 37/44) def Kereru A 34 (Maia Hill GS1 8/11, Claudia Lewis GA1 16/26, GS3 8/13, Kereana Harris GS2 0/1, GA2 2/4). Quarter scores: 21-5, 35-19, 55-24, 70-34.