AHS win knocks netball league leaders Loungers off top spot

Anderson High School defeated netball first division leaders Loungers by a single point to dent their title hopes while Team Rowley and Kinetics, also harbouring hopes of the championship, could not be separated. Unst were victorious in division two while the third division saw two wins apiece for Ness and Hotfooters.

Division One

Team Rowley 42, Kinetics 42

After suffering a hefty defeat to Team Rowley two weeks ago Kinetics took to the court determined to secure a win and stormed to a five-goal lead with some slick centre court play from Fiona Shearer. She accurately fed shooters Kirsti Leask and Sarah Grogan and the score at the end of the first quarter was 13-8 to Kinetics.

A more evenly matched second quarter saw Team Rowley keen not to let Kinetics further extend their lead. End-to-end play saw both teams score 10 goals and Kinetics held on to their five-goal lead at 23-18.

In the third quarter Team Rowley took control. Defenders Fiona Dally and Maisie Unsworth were making vital interceptions and Karen Mackay was working hard to move the ball up to the shooters, where Lisa Morrison was scoring some excellent long-range shots.

Kinetics centre Louise Fraser was forced off with a finger injury and Rowley managed to bring the score even at 31-all going into the last quarter.

The final quarter saw some fast-paced netball, with both teams fighting to secure a win. Accurate shooting in both circles meant that there was little separating the two.

A ruptured achilles injury to WA Julie Kirkness, with 38 seconds remaining, rattled Team Rowley and when play resumed with the ball in their possession, confusion in the attack led to a Kinetics interception which was swiftly converted into a goal and resulted in a draw.

Players of the match were Lisa Morrison for Team Rowley and Fiona Shearer for Kinetics.

AHS 23, Loungers 22

It is a credit to the young Anderson High School players that every team which comes on court against them, expecting a challenging game, acknowledges that they will be faced with a fast, athletic group of players who will maintain their level of play throughout the full 60 minutes.

Such was the game against Loungers. It started at a high tempo with both teams using some slick passing to link play through the centre of the court. Vicki Henderson and Inga Woods worked particularly well around each other, with Inga’s darting, pace changing game complementing Vicki’s precision timing and her accurate weight of pass.

However, the AHS centre court players did not ease up on effort with Ann Marie Kennerley and Katie Farnworth both doing a good job of stealing little tips and touches to break up the Loungers mid-court attacks.

As the game progressed it became apparent that every goal was going to be crucial and Louise Jamieson and Claire Morris put in a sterling performance of shooting under pressure. As well as handling the responsibility of converting the hard fought possession into goals, they, along with Debbie Smith, were also dealing with the dominant presence of Louise Moar and the determination of Victoria Duthie as they guarded their team’s goal.

There rarely was more than two goals separating the teams with Stella Oldbury putting in her usual consistent display and Claire Young moving fluently in and around the shooting area.

A change in the final quarter for AHS, with Sophie Leyland supporting Emma Leask in defence and Megan Keppie contributing with some influential attacking runs as well as her usual strong defensive play, seemed to unsettle the rhythm of Loungers. That allowed AHS to steal a couple of crucial goals in the final minute and take the game by one crucial goal.

Players of the match were Emma Leask for AHS and Louise Moar for Loungers.

Wastside v Loungers

Wastside could not field a team and the points were awarded to Loungers.

Division Two

Da McEwans 14, Unst 53

This good-natured match started enthusiastically. Unst’s defence worked tirelessly with Martha Clark and Linda Thomson making Da McEwans attackers work hard.

Deborah Mowat did well for Da McEwans, linking the ball through the centre court and feeding it into the circle, but any missed shot was quickly converted into goals at the other end.

Da McEwans mixed up the team members but the Unst team proved too strong with the first half ending 23-8.

Unst kept up the pressure in the second half. Karis Burns stood out in centre court, feeding in to the shooters who were hardly missing a shot.

Da McEwans’ passing settled down towards the end of the game with Eileen Robertson and Deborah pairing well, but the gap was too big.

Players of the match were Deborah Mowat for McEwans and Karis Burns and Chelsea Jamieson for Unst.

Division Three

Ness 45, Scalloway Juniors 32

Ness took first centre and quickly got the ball to Elizabeth Williamson who opened the scoring.

Scalloway seemed the more comfortable team though and went on to score three in a row. Ness then began to settle with some great passing into and around the circle between centre Megan Smith, WA Kirstin Sineath and shooters Caroline Wood and Elizabeth.

Despite some good defending from the Scalloway defence of Nicole Mouat and Kaylee Mouat the first quarter ended 13-7 to Ness.

The second quarter started with some very fast play and the Ness shooters scoring every time they got the ball. Scalloway started to fight back with good play from centre Rowan Nicolson working hard to get the ball to their end. Her hard work payed off as GA Julie Brown rarely missed a shot at goal.

Good centre court play continued, especially from Scalloway GD Aimee Topp and Ness GD Ailish Parham who were working hard for their teams. Excellent movement from Ness GS Stephanie Adamson in the circle meant the second quarter ended 26-14 to Ness.

The third quarter saw Scalloway come on determined to close the score, they slowed down the Ness scoring with some strong defending from Megan Halcrow and Nicole. The quarter saw some fantastic shooting from Scalloway’s Julie Brown but it just wasn’t enough to close the gap though as Ness continued to lead 39-22.

The final quarter was the best for Scalloway with some excellent team play. They moved Rowan to GS and between her and Julie they did a superb job of increasing the score for Scalloway.

Accurate passing, good defence and taking advantage of rebounds saw them find the net more often as a tiring Ness. Unfortunately this came too late and the final score saw Ness the winners. Players of the match were Rowan Nicolson for Scalloway and Ailish Parham for Ness.

Da Hooligans 28, Hotfooters 31

The first quarter began with the Hotfooters dominating with good shooting from Liza fullerton and Gillian Morrison. This allowed them to gain then initial lead despite Nicola Polson and Tammi Anderson’s best efforts. The Hotfooters’ controlled play gained them their 8-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Da Hooligans came on with more determination. Strong play from Zoe Irvine and sister Karis helped the Da Hooligans get the ball up to their shooters Valerie Sales and Rhea Kay. However, fast play from Jenny Anderson led the Hotfooters into their lead 17-9 at half time.

Holly Jamieson came on as centre and made good linking passes up the court to the shooters with Abbey Irvine making several good interceptions which allowed this to happen. However, the Hotfooters were on fine form, still in the lead at 27-17.

In the final quarter Da Hooligans finally awoke with great shooting from Lara Kay and Valerie Sales and strong defending from Da Hooligans defence. However, the Hotfooters still managed to secure the win by three goals.

Players of the match were Zoe Irvine for Da Hooligans and Gillian Morrison for Hotfooters.

Hotfooters 42, Scallywags 29

The first quarter saw Hotfooters win the first centre pass and fast, accurate passing saw them opening the score. Scallywags were soon on the attack, matching them goal for goal, but the end of the first quarter saw Hotfooters leading 10-7.

The second quarter saw Naomi Johnson come on as GD for Scallywags and Nicola Smith move to GK for the start of a very fast game with both teams making use of the whole court.
Hotfooters were showing great team work with accurate passes being fed between Lauren Odie and Anne Leask to shooters Liza Fullerton and Haley Tulloch, making Johnson and Smith work hard in defence.  Scallywags were also showing great team work with strong passing between Gwen Malcolmson and Andrea Henderson into Anne-Marie Robinson and Dana Stewart, making Hotfooters Iona Holmes and Rosanne Georgeson work to keep them from scoring. As the half-time whistle went, Hotfooters went into the third quarter with a 19-15 lead.

The third quarter continued in this manner with Hotfooters looking the stronger side with Haley Tulloch and Gillian Morrison finding the net with their accurate shooting.

Scallywags never gave up and were even more determined to close the gap and Anne-Marie Robinson was also finding her form with her long range shoots but Hotfooters defence were quick to intercept the rebounds preventing Scallywags from increasing their scoring. Hotfooters went inti the final quarter with a lead of 32-21.

The last quarter was to be an exciting end to a very competitive match with everything to play for by both teams. Hotfooters once again were dominating with great linking passes from Odie through to Haley Tulloch who never missed the net with her accurate shooting.

Scallywags again never gave up and fast accurate passing into Robinson saw her find the net with her shooting as well. Both teams worked tirelessly but as the final whistle went it was Hotfooters who won.

Players of the match were Haley Tulloch for Hotfooters and Anne-Marie Robinson for Scallywags.

Ness 37, Da Hooligans 36

Ness started off the stronger team which led to some early goals with good link up play between the mid-court and shooters.

Da Hooligans were slower out the blocks but continued to retaliate with accurate shooting from Valerie Sales and Lara Kay. However, Ness stayed on top at the end of the first quarter to lead 9-7.

With some changes to Da Hooligans line-up, their confidence was boosted and they achieved greater consistency in their play. Some vital interceptions allowed them to take advantage and win the second quarter to lead 18-17.

The tables turned again in the third quarter in Ness’ favour. Good defending kept Da Hooligans at bay and at the other end of the court the shooters were on fire, which left the score 30-26 to Ness.

Inevitably, Da Hooligans came fighting back with good determination around the court. However, this was not enough to secure victory and Ness won by one goal.