Team Rowley forge ahead in netball league

Team Rowley made it three wins out of three in the netball first division with a 15-point margin against Kinetics. In division two Da Hooligans and Da McEwans both received the points after their opponents failed to show while Wastside saw off Mishaps. The third division matches resulted in victories for Arctic Security and Ness.

Division One

Kinetics 23, Team Rowley 48

The game began with some very fast-paced play from both teams. Chloe Miller for Kinetics demonstrated accurate shooting and Kinetics pulled ahead by two at the start of the match but with a few loose balls being picked up by Team Rowley’s strong defence and quick mid-court they led 13-6 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter got off to a fast start after changes were made to both teams. Excellent linking play by Team Rowley’s mid-court Karen Bannister and Karen McKay made sure they converted interceptions into goals with excellent shooting from Lisa Morrison. The score gap widened in their favour and was 27-12 at half time.

The third quarter saw Kirsti Leask of Kinetics come on and switches were made as Emma Leask went to GK and Andrea Tait to GD. Maisie Unsworth of Team Rowley worked hard to mark in the circle and picked up lots of loose balls and quickly cleared them out of the Kinetics circle, resulting in Team Rowley netting more shots and finishing the quarter at 38-16.

In the last quarter Kinetics made lots of changes to try and settle into the game, Chloe Miller, Kirsti Leask, Debbie Smith, Louise Fraser and Vaila Hough all coming on.

Kinetics fought hard to get to half points with some slick passing and accurate shooting. However, Team Rowley continued to dominate play which meant Kinetics missed out by one goal and the game finished 48-23 in Team Rowley’s favour. Players of the match were Maisie Unsworth for Team Rowley and Emma Leask for Kinetics.

Division Two

Supernova v Da Hooligans

Supernova were unable to field a team so the points were awarded to Da Hooligans.

Hotfooters v Da McEwans

Da McEwans were awarded the points as Hotfooters mistakenly thought the game was at Scalloway and arrived too late to take to the court.

Wastside 49, Mishaps 35

The game started fast and furious with both sides taking time to acclimatise. Play was frantic and scrappy, resulting a low-scoring first quarter. As the whistle blew to a close it was Mishaps who were one goal ahead at 11-10.

In the second quarter Mishaps started to lose their stride, however, and Wastside were ready and energised. Catherine Henry was especially on form, rarely missing a shot. At the other end Wastside defenders Pauline Walterson and Karen Priest marked solidly and reacted quickly, establishing interceptions which could then be passed on to Julie Odie who successfully fed balls back up again into the unstoppable shooting circle. Wastside took the lead at 25-15.

For the third quarter both teams made changes and the Mishaps changes saw them step up their game. The new, fresh legs of Suzanne Manson and Carly Gray helped contribute towards Mishaps totting up their goal count, delivered by shooters Leanne Tait and Gayle Henry. Wastside also continued to play well with Michaela Johnson and Lisa Johnson both giving good support, keeping the lead intact at 34-30.

The final quarter saw Wastside determined to maintain their lead. Louise Morrison, who came on as WA, worked hard, linking well with Erica Mikolajczyk who played a steadying role and Mhari Moncrieff who was persistent and thirsty for more shots on target.

On the other hand Mishaps continued to play well, in particular Anne Marie Goudie who was always well positioned to receive a pass and did some excellent feeding in to their shooting circle. When the final whistle blew Wastside had managed to widen the gap again to 49-35.

Players of the match were Ann-Marie Goudie for Mishaps and Catherine Henry for Wastside.

Division Three

Arctic Security 31, Dutch Courage 8

Arctic Security secured the first centre pass of the match and quickly converted this into a goal. Sara Kay and Kristen Johnston proved too strong a match for Dutch Courage shooters Sara Cowie and Alison Anderson. At the end of the first quarter Arctic Security had a five-goal advantage at 6-1.

Dutch Courage made a couple of changes to their line-up in the second quarter but that made little impact as Arctic Security continued to dominate. Arctic’s centre court players were linking well up the court and feeding in to their shooters Heather Henry and Paula Sinclair who rarely missed the target. Dutch Courage were forced to make further changes towards the end of the second quarter following an injury time-out. The half-time score was 14-3 in Arctic Security’s favour.

Dutch Courage continued to fight at the beginning of the second half with Kate Wills and Vaila Pearson linking well and feeding the ball into their shooters. Unfortunately many of their shots did not reach the target and were intercepted by the Arctic Security defence on the rebound. By the end of the quarter Dutch Courage were facing a 19-goal deficit.

The final quarter was the strongest of the match for Dutch Courage with some good mid-court play. Their shooters were again unfortunate not to convert more of their chances into actual goals. They should be encouraged by their performance in this final quarter which they could build on for their next game.

Players of the match were Paula Sinclair for Arctic Security and Vaila Pearson for Dutch Courage.

Scallywags 19, Ness 24

Ness won the first centre pass which saw the start of a very fast, accurate passing quarter with great end-to-end play by both teams.

Scallywags were very quick to settle into this quarter which saw great linking passes between Gwen Malcolmson and Joy Duncan in to their shooters who were finding their shots on target despite being heavily marked by Ness’s Ruth Christie and Ailish Parham. As the whistle went it was Scallywags who were leading 7-3.

As the second quarter got under way Ness were the stronger as Scallywags seemed to have lost their determination from the first quarter. Ness took advantage and great mid-court passing between Maya Whittall and Claire Farmer in to shooters Caroline Wood and Elizabeth Williamson brought more scoring.

The Scallywags defence of Rachel Williamson and Debbie Morgan were working tirelessly to keep Ness from scoring and to pick up the rebounds to get them back up the court to their shooters. At the half-time whistle and despite Scallywags’ best efforts in the quarter, it was Ness who led 11-10.

Scallywags were determined to put the last quarter behind them and were soon settling back into their game but it was not long until they suffered a setback when Meg Laurenson had to be carried off court with a serious ankle injury. Both teams seemed rattled by this, and it was a very low-scoring quarter despite end-to-end play. It was Ness who went into the final quarter with a three-point lead at 13-10.

Scallywags were down to six players in the final quarter and were determined to give it their all which saw Malcolmson and Duncan working well in mid-court feeding and supporting their shooters who were rarely missing.

Any rebounds were quickly picked up by Ness’s Ruth Christie who was soon feeding the ball back up the court to their shooters who were also on target with their shoots.

Both teams were working hard to ensure a win but as the final whistle went it was Ness who won despite Scallywags’ determination to fight to the end.

Players of the match were Anne-Marie Robinson for Scallywags and Ailish Parham for Ness.