Netball girls upset the odds
MOST of last week’s netball action was in division three where, surprisingly, in the three matches played the bottom three teams – Scallywags, Burra and Mavericks – emerged with victories over the top three. In the first division Kiwis remained in contention with another win while in division two leaders Challengers registered another win.
Division One
Supernova 17, Kiwis 46
Kiwis took an early lead with precise passing by the whole team and flawless shooting by Marie Clark (GA) and Dawn Manson (GS), despite the concerted efforts of the Supernova defence. The first quarter ended with Kiwis leading 12-2.
Supernova began the second quarter with renewed enthusiasm, with Hannah Burgess (C) fighting for every ball and getting some cracking interceptions. However, the mighty Kiwis were on awesome form and stormed ahead to secure an even bigger lead of 22-7.
Despite Supernova’s determination they were no match for the strong Kiwis team who continued to dominate the rest of the match.
Players of the match were Dawn Manson for Kiwis and Hannah Burgess for Supernova.
Whalsay 22, Loungers 17
Whalsay were first to settle and take the lead. Their defence were quick to snatch balls heading into the Loungers circle and up to June Williamson to score with Whalsay leading 6-2 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw Loungers settle and come out stronger. Loungers Vicki Henderson was making some excellent interceptions and with determination Loungers levelled the game but never secured the lead, the score being 9-9 at half time.
The third quarter saw Whalsay resume their lead. Whalsays defending duo Janet Abernethy and Sarah Kay put the pressure on to help win this quarter 18-14.
The final quarter saw Whalsay maintaining their lead with good play and team work to end this end to end encounter winning the game by 5 goals.
Players of the match were Ingrid Nicol for Whalsay and Claire Young for Loungers.
Division Two
Da Hooligans 20, Challengers 40
Challengers were first to settle with Marie Anderson (C) and Maree Simpson (WA) linking well in the centre court and feeding accurate passes into their shooters. This saw Challengers lead 10-3 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter saw a lot of excellent defending from Da Hooligans. Vicky Irvine (WD), Shelley Sandison (GD) and Tammi Anderson (GK) worked well together, intercepting in the circle to prevent any goals being scored, and this paid off as the gap closed to 20-10 at half time.
The third quarter saw some good passing by both teams with plenty of end-to-end play. The Challengers were defending tightly in the mid court and made Da Hooligans work even harder. The quarter finished with Challengers extending their lead to 30-14.
In the final quarter Da Hooligans were determined to get the goals needed to close the gap. Lara Kay (WA) worked well to feed accurate passes into the shooters. But despite this Challengers sealed the win.
Players of the match were Vicky Irvine for Da Hooligans and Lara Kay and Marie Anderson for Challengers.
Division Three
Mavericks 30, Ness 25
The Mavericks won the toss and the game proceeded with fast, end-to-end play.
With the goal attack Elizabeth Williamson and goal shooter Caroline Wood linking well in the circle, Ness soon took a three-goal lead before Mavericks answered with their first.
Solid passing from Andrea Jeromson held the Mavericks’ attacking end of the court together with steady feeding into goal shooter Chloe Miller who, by this time, had got her eye. She hardly missed and the Mavericks side fought back to lead 7-6 by the end of the first quarter. The second quarter saw Ness defenders Vaila Irvine, Gina Scanlan and Alice Smith play well together with tight marking, but again solid feeding in from Ali Elphinstone and Andrea Jeromson and accurate shooting from Chloe Miller saw the Mavericks edge to a four point lead by half time at 18-14.
The third quarter continued at a steady pace with both sides linking well. The Mavericks increased their lead slightly with the score 25-18 when the whistle blew.
The Ness team fought back in the final quarter, ensuring the Mavericks had to keep full concentration to guarantee their win.
Players of the match were Andrea Jeromson for Mavericks and Vaila Irvine for Ness.
Scalloway Juniors 20, Burra 28
The game started with both teams determined to get the first goal, leading to a hectic opening centre. Scalloway Juniors took a while to settle, meaning quick movement and passing around the shooting circle from Burra’s GA Kelly Edwards and GS Ingrid Divine let them take 7-4 lead in the first quarter.
In the second quarter good defending from GK Erin Sandison and GD Megan Halcrow meant that they could keep up with Burra’s strong attack, leaving the score at 15-12 to Burra.
Burra’s GD Heather Henry and C Erica Leask did many strong, accurate passes which gave Scalloway Juniors a hard job to get the ball back. A focused Laura McIntyre came on to play GS for Scalloway Juniors and although she had to work hard, as GK Susan Laurenson put up a good fight, she coped well and managed to help Scalloway Juniors get more goals. The score was 25-17 to Burra at the end of the third quarter.
The final quarter was very frantic with both teams only getting three goals each. Scalloway Juniors made a few changes with Hannah Parkin swapping to C and Leah Henry to WA. This worked well as they linked very well with each other in attack. Both teams gave a good performance overall, but Burra edged ahead to win.
Player of the match for Burra was Heather Henry while the Scalloway Juniors all stood out.
Scallywags 21, Lerwick Juniors 19
This game was fast and furious from beginning to end, with the Juniors opening the scoring early on. However, it took another six minutes for the next goal to come, as both teams marked and defended with precision.
Naomi Johnson and Pauline Mouat worked well together in the Scallywags defence to shield off the constant storm of attacks from Sadie Tait (GS) and Caitlin Watt (GA). At the other end Alice Unsworth and Katie McMillan held off the Scallywags advances and gave the shooters little opportunities. The first quarter ended 2-2.
Play continued in much the same vein, with the game becoming frantic at times, as point matched point and tension rose. Scallywags were starting to use short passes to their advantage with Gwen Malcolmson (C) integral to their accuracy in advancement. In the last minute Lerwick Juniors managed to pull two points ahead to lead 7-9.
Juniors made a good start to the second half with Sarah Groat (C) working in some lovely passes and hemming in the Scallywags attackers to the corners. Scallywags had made good use of their substitutes, however, and the fresh legs helped their game tremendously.
Fantastic play between Anne-Marie Robinson (GA) and Gwen helped Scallywags build up several attacks, with Cyndi Pottinger (GS) and Anne-Marie confidently securing the goals. The village side managed to build a small lead of 15-12 as they went into the last quarter.
Both teams were attacking from the whistle but Scallywags somehow seemed to lose their nerve as the young Lerwick lasses were determined not to see this game slip. Again there was frantic and fast play as Juniors started to creep back into it. Scallywags managed to pull themselves together though and hold on for the win, leaving the Lerwick Juniors with their first defeat of the season. Players of the match were Naomi Johnson for Scallywags and Sarah Groat for Lerwick Juniors.
