Once they had settled, Girls’ High worked well together through the court and pulled ahead over each quarter.
Centre Te Arai Waihape-Matthews was everywhere. She drove hard to the top of the goal circle to deliver good ball into her shooters, chased down loose ball, and got tips and intercepts.
Defenders Joaquina Kaa, Piper Glass-Donaldson, Hinerauiri Cotter-Luke and Kohine Aupouri worked as one to limit the amount of ball entering Ngatapa’s attacking end. They pressured the ball carrier and were quick to intercept, tip and gather loose ball.
Ngatapa never gave up and there were times when they stopped the students’ flow and created their own turnovers.
However, there weren’t enough of those and Girls’ High went on to pick up a vital four points as they stay in the hunt for a top-four spot.
Whangara hit the YMCA floor running against YMP (2).
With excellent movement through the court and good finishing, they were 10 goals up by the end of the first quarter.
In the second 15 minutes, YMP eliminated some of their earlier errors and connected far better.
They moved the ball at speed through the middle of the court and competed strongly to lose the quarter by just one goal and trail 32-21 at halftime.
Both teams made changes at the break and these worked particularly well for Whangara as their players gelled nicely together and moved the ball slickly through the court.
Whangara shooter Hinewaipounamu Rangihuna had a good game, positioning herself perfectly in the goal circle to collect high balls and finishing well.
She was ably assisted by the experienced Tiara Weir in the first half and Nadia Whaitiri-White in the second.
Their midcourt worked hard to produce turnovers, were zippy through the court and made sure they were always available.
YMP 2 had a good first half but struggled in the latter two quarters under Whangara’s pressure.
Whangara’s win moved them into second on their own on 25 points — 11 points behind leaders Turanga FM YMP (1) and four ahead of Claydens Waikohu (1).
Girls’ High are fifth on 16 points, one point behind Horouta Koura.
The students face the ultimate test of where they are at tomorrow when they return to the YMCA to take on defending champions YMP (1) at 9am.
The last game between these two was highly competitive, with YMP edging ahead over each quarter.
YMP’s strengths are their combinations, understanding and speed through the court.
Girls’ High work together well, too, but sometimes struggle under defensive pressure and choose the wrong delivery option into their shooters.
They will need to be positive and confident in their play to have any chance of ending YMP’s unbeaten run in 2023.
Tomorrow’s other Premier game features Waikohu (1) against Horouta Koura at 10.30am.
It was a close contest when these two teams met at the beginning of the month.
Over the first three quarters, either team would pull ahead by a couple of goals only for to be pegged back.
It was decided in an emphatic last quarter as Waikohu tightened their defence and surged ahead to win by 10 goals.
Across the road at Victoria Domain tomorrow, secondary and intermediate grades are back on court for their final games, while seniors continue Round 3.
The prizegiving for the secondary and intermediate grades will be in the downstairs pavilion as soon as possible after the completion of the 11am round.
