Naumai wing defence Dania Wood (centre) waits alongside Manawanui wing attack Cherith McLennan for umpire Graeme Pulham (right) to toss the ball. Photo / Adam Pearse
Naumai wing defence Dania Wood (centre) waits alongside Manawanui wing attack Cherith McLennan for umpire Graeme Pulham (right) to toss the ball. Photo / Adam Pearse
Manawanui White pulled off a near-perfect fourth quarter on Friday night to defeat Naumai 61-41.
Finishing the third quarter of their Whangārei premier netball fixture at ASB Stadium up only 40-34, Manawanui went on a rampage in the final stages, using their skill and speed that has been their trademarkin the 2019 season.
Despite the 20-goal winning margin, the game was tight in the first two quarters with both teams having equal share of the ball. Manawanui's speed, while it helped them at the end, hindered their progress at the start with mistakes aplenty due to them rushing the ball up the court.
Leading into the second quarter, 15-13, Manawanui started to settle on the ball which improved their execution at the shooting end. Manawanui goal-shoot Jaelyn Walker was her usual dominant self in the circle which ensured a good conversion rate for the team in red.
Manawanui centre Kimberly Ruth (left) adds to the pressure on her Naumai counterpart. Photo / Adam Pearse
Manawanui's dominance started to unsettle the Naumai team who began to shell more possession, which hurt their chances of closing their opposition's six-goal lead at halftime.
Naumai looked to their bench after the second and third quarter, making a raft of changes hoping to catch Manawanui, who only made one substitution all game, off-guard.
But going into the fourth quarter, a tiring Naumai outfit could do nothing to prevent Manawanui's lead from ballooning into the 20-goal margin at the final whistle.
"I think the way that we pulled it together in the first quarter to come out strong was good, and the fourth quarter was really strong as well," Manawanui manager Mo Matautia-Tepania said.
"I think the team was just really motivated in that last quarter to pull away."
With a game-plan of being patient and letting the ball do the work, Matautia-Tepania admitted it took awhile for the girls to settle into the game.
"Once we found our rhythm, we wanted to make sure that we didn't change our game-plans that we had going into the game and by the end of it, I think we were hitting it quite well."
Matautia-Tepania said it was a good sign to see her team showing good fitness in the latter stages of the game as the competition moved towards the finals.
"We are just trying to look after our girls, everybody is coming down with sickness these days so we are just trying to look after our bodies, keep well and keep warm."
Naumai coach Maree Langdon commended her side's performance early in the game before their play started to unravel.
"It was good for the first three quarters and we just lost it in the last, but it was a good contest and a nice game," she said.
"Our fitness was letting us down, we only had the two reserves which has been the story of our season, but that's no excuse."
Naumai's Marion Te Whiu replicated her usual physical performance against Manawanui on Friday night. Photo / Adam Pearse
Langdon said the introduction of Dania Woods at wing defence made a big difference in counteracting Manawanui's dangerous wing attack, Cherith McLennan, but she felt the team's execution let them down.
"We'll work on our defence and just slowing it down because we get quite frantic as the game goes along, but I think every week, it comes down to poor passing and poor pass selection."
In the round's other games, Whangārei Girls' High School beat Wahine Toa, 68-52 and The Bubz beat Whangaruru (score not confirmed before deadline).
