Netball: Lord rebounds in college final

Napier Girls' High School celebrate with the silverware after last night's win against Hastings Girls' High School.

Coach Annemarie Kupa heaped kudos on goal shoot Kaya Lord after Napier Girls High School won a fourth consecutive Hawke's Bay Secondary Schools Super 12 netball title last night.

"Kaya didn't have a good game for Otane when we we lost our Super 6 premier club final a couple of weeks back but that game made her stronger. She bounced back in style tonight," Kupa said after her team's 34-30 win against Hastings Girls' High School in the final at Taradale's Pettigrew-Green Arena.

With a 77 per cent success rate (24 from 31 attempts) Lord was the best shooter on the court. Another member of the Otane team which lost 51-46 to Outkast in the club final, New Zealand Maori Secondary Schools player Jaydi Taylor-Chaffey, was outstanding at goal defence for Napier.

Kupa's troops led 7-5 after the first quarter, 16-14 at halftime and 25-21 after the third quarter. Only two of Kupa's starting seven, Lord and goal keep Emily McLaren, won't be returning to school next year.

"We've got plenty of depth and our New Zealand Secondary Schools midcourter Briana Stephenson, who missed most of the season with injury, will be back again next year so there is no reason why we can't go for five in a row," Kupa said.

Goal attack Kate Pearse was a workaholic for Hastings while goal defence Liana Mikaele-Tu'u hunted the loose ball well and secured crucial rebounds.

"We came close on a couple of occasions in a match which could have gone either way," Hastings coach Ina Jones said. "Basic errors cost us."

She said her team was looking forward to next week's Lower North Island Secondary Schools tournament in Whanganui where they will be in different pool than Napier. "That will be a good opportunity to redeem ourselves," she said.

The three curtainraisers were nailbiters. Taradale High School pipped Wairoa College 23-22 in the playoff for third, Woodford House snuck in 25-24 against Havelock North High School in the plate final and Iona College pipped St Joseph's Maori Girls' College 29-28 in the bowl final.