Netball victories for Rowley, AHS, Loungers, Wastside, Mishaps and Ness

Team Rowley, AHS and Loungers all had wins in the netball first division last week, Wastside and Mishaps were successful in division two and Ness picked up full points in the third division.

Division One

Unst 28, Team Rowley 51

Team Rowley won the toss and took the first centre pass. They showed why they are sitting at the top of the league at the moment and took control of the game from the first whistle.

Unst struggled to keep up with their quick and controlled game and nothing they tried could interrupt the stream of Team Rowley goals with Lisa Morrison and Marie Clark never missing a shot.

Unst were glad to hear the whistle for the end of the first quarter with the score 15-2 against them and much to do to get back into the game.

The second quarter saw Unst shuffle their team around with Julie Munro coming on at WD, Janet Abernethy moving to GK and Linda Thomson moving to the other end of the court to shoot at GA. This had an immediate effect and Unst found themselves settling into the game and were determined to begin to get some goals on the score board.

It became an even contest with both teams battling it out all the way down the court and Unst finally found some form with excellent play in the middle of the court from Amber Inkster at centre. They managed to edge out the quarter scoring 14 goals to Rowley’s 13.

Rowley were quick to respond to the fightback and began to up their game. Despite some excellent pressure on their attack from the Unst defensive players they were still finding their shooters who were in turn finding the net. Rowley took control again with great passing from Karen Bannister at centre and extended their lead to 38-20 at the end of the quarter.

Rowley continued to push ahead in the final quarter but Unst were not going to let them run away with the game and carried on working hard to make sure any scoring opportunity was converted.

Neither team let the momentum of the game slip and it continued to be even to the final whistle with Team Rowley coming out the victors 51-28 with an excellent performance.

Players of the match were Amber Inkster for Unst and Lisa Morrison for Team Rowley.

AHS 37, Kinetics 32

This game was crucial for AHS as they needed their first win of the season. It started at a fast pace for both teams with the ball flying up and down the court.

The first few centres were even with each team scoring their own. However, the AHS game play settled quickest and they took a steal for Kinetics putting them a goal ahead. Louise Jamieson seemed to get her eye in straight away and never seemed to miss a shot, the quarter ending 10-7 in AHS’s favour.

In the second quarter all was even as each team had everything to play for. With some great blocking from Andrea Tait in the Kinetics defensive circle, it became hard for AHS to increase their lead. But shooters Liza Fullerton and Louise never gave up and with extra support from Claire Morris and Lauren Odie around the edge of the circle, AHS managed to keep their three-goal lead and the half time score ended 19-16.

The third quarter saw Kinetics’ Kirsti Leask move into defence and Debbie Smith to shooting, making the game much more difficult for the young AHS team. Defenders Iona Holmes and Rozanne Georgeson had to work hard in the AHS defensive circle to make sure they kept the lead.

Kinetics continued to play well and their passing flowed freely up and down the court with some brilliant play from centre Fiona Shearer and wing attack Carina Maclatchie. The score was 26-22 to AHS going into the last quarter.

The final quarter saw Kinetics coming out fighting but AHS were not going to let their guard down and were keen to stay ahead. They managed to convert their turnovers into goals and gained an extra goal on Kinetics, leaving the final score at 37-32.

Players of the match were Kirsti Leask for Kinetics and Iona Holmes for AHS.

Loungers 42, Challengers 23

Good linking up the court by Loungers mid-court players Vicki Henderson and Hazel Uren saw the first quarter end with them having the advantage.

Catherine Williamson and Marie Anderson worked endlessly for Challengers with fast passes into the circle but good interceptions by Louise Moar saw Loungers convert these into goals from their shooters.

The third quarter saw some changes from both teams. Challengers shooters Valia Kay and Louise Johnson were on top form with every shot going in.

Challengers stayed strong until the very end with strong play from defenders Natalie Polson and Lynda Irvine. However, Loungers came out on top.

Player of the match for Loungers was Claire Young while Challengers player of the match was Louise Johnson, both due to their movement in the circle and accurate shots.

Division Two

Da Hooligans 20, Wastside 47

Wastside began with the first centre pass and soon had the ball played up the court to their shooters. However, Da Hooligans were also finding their step and the game saw some quick end-to-end play.

Although Da Hooligans defence made some great interceptions, the Wastside shooters were on top form and were hardly missing the net. The quarter ended at 14-6 to Wastside.

The beginning of the second quarter saw the some great defending from Wastside’s Pauline Walterson and some good linked play from Erica Mikolajczak led to more balls being fed into Wastside’s circle. Da Hooligans’ Lara Kay and Abbey Irvine made great attempts at intercepting vital balls and pushed the ball back up the court. Wastside continued to play strongly and held their lead at 26-10 by the end of the quarter.

Changes were made to both teams in the third quarter. Da Hooligans saw Mairi Polson play well at GA and Wastside were lifted by the presence of Lynsey Morrison in the centre court. Da Hooligans’ shooters Mairi Polson and Rhea Kay worked well together but Wastside were undeterred, their defence soon having the ball up the court. Mhari Moncrieff and Catherine Henry hardly missed an opportunity to score and the quarter ended 37-16 to Wastside.

Wastside came on court with determination and continued to pass well throughout the final quarter. Lara Kay persevered through the whole quarter, putting pressure on Wastside’s shooters. However, Wastside stayed on top.

Players of the match for Wastside was Lynsey Morrison while for Da Hooligans Lara Kay and Karis Irvine stood out.

Mishaps 40, Supernova 24

The Mishaps defence was particularly strong in the first quarter with Kara Thomason and Emma Inkster making some good interceptions and blocks in the Supernova circle. Mishaps led 9-4 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter saw Supernova shooters Marianne Williamson and Christine Jamieson demonstrating their excellent skills to try and close the gap. There was some good link-play from both teams, particularly between Lisa Haining and Helen Mathewson of Supernova to get the ball up court and into their circle.

Mishaps kept up their determination not to let go of the lead with some excellent play from Lara Thomason and Rona Simpson and at half time Mishaps maintained the lead at 19-12.

In the third quarter both teams made a swap in the wings with Carly Gray moving to WA and Rona Simpson to WD for Mishaps and Supernova bringing on Sharon Moore at WD. Mishaps continued excellent defensive work with some very clever and determined passes being made.

Jenny Wylie and Laura Mathewson worked very hard to try and prevent Leanne Tait and Anne-Marie Goudie from scoring but Leanne’s experienced shooting proved too strong on the night, rarely missing a shot. The third quarter ended at 29-18.

The final quarter saw Supernova coming out keen to gain some goals back. Lisa Haining moved to GS and Marianne Williamson to WA. Lisa scored some excellent goals even though she is not usually placed in the circle. Mishaps demonstrated some excellent linked play between Lara, Carly and Leanne to get the ball quickly into the circle which Anne-Marie converted into goals.

This was a very competitive match with both teams showing some very determined, strong play. Players of the match were Christine Jamieson who displayed some very tactful shooting for Supernova and Kara Thomason who made some excellent interceptions for Mishaps.

Division Three

Ness 37, Dutch Courage 14

With Guy Fawkes Night soon approaching both teams were keen for a sparkling display. Ness exploded out of the starting blocks and soon took the lead with some dazzling shooting from goal attack Caroline Wood.

Feeling the heat, Dutch Courage wing attack Vaila Pearson set the pace alight with some good movement to keep them in the game with the first quarter ending 9-7 to Ness.

The second quarter started with a bang with Ness plotting an impressive attacking display. Maya Whittall and Kate Wills had an interesting battle in the middle third with some rocket passes on show. This colourful display from Ness saw them take a considerable lead of 20-8 at half time.

Dutch Courage went into the attack in the third quarter, coming into the game and taking control of the middle third for much of the quarter. Kathleen Smith and Alison Anderson extended Dutch Courage’s score with some strong teamwork in the goal third.

The final quarter opened with both teams keen to push ahead. However, despite some strong defence from Clemmy Barker, Ness extended their lead with Caroline Wood continuing to be Ness’ top scorer.

It was a very competitive game with both teams being pulled up for contact throughout. Players of the match were Clare Farmer for Ness and Kate Wills for Dutch Courage.