Netball: Hora Hora claim win in one-point thriller

Hora Hora 1 and Bridgestone Marist 1 swapped the lead throughout a reserve grade thriller before Hora Hora nudged ahead to win by a goal.

The 35-34 thriller was one of two reserve grade matches played at the weekend, with Wahine Toa taking out Manawanui Blue 56-32.

The game between WGHS Senior 2 and Whangaruru 1 has been postponed until later in the season, because representative duties decimated the WGHS side.

In the Hora Hora 1 and Bridgestone Marist 1 game, Hora Hora took the lead early but Marist pulled back the first quarter scoreline to only be two behind at half time. Marist led after three quarters, but an intense final period saw Hora Hora take a slim one-goal win.

Dynamic Hora Hora centre Renee Lowther fed perfect ball to the shooters, who at times were hard to find due to the exceptionally tight Marist defensive of Krista-Lee Harris and Hayley Tasker.

The midcourt Hora Hora defence of Sue Ann Nesbit and Leah Valli put pressure on the Marist team causing them to often play the ball backwards in order to maintain possession.

In the second match between Wahine Toa and Manawanui Blue, Wahine Toa had control of the game from the get go.

They started strongly and whilst Manawanui won the third quarter, they were unable to maintain it, and Wahine Toa finished with a dominating final quarter to win the game 56-32.

Wahine Toa newcomer Kyla Moore had an outstanding game, continually driving for the ball and feeding shooters clean ball.

The shooting circle experience of Wahine Toa's Maria Dick and Donna Stratford proved to be valuable as they finished off scoring goals with confidence and accuracy.

For Manawanui, Santana Munns at wing defence applied continual pressure throughout the game, while Raiha Turuwhenua offered height in the shooting circle and multiple options for the feeders.