NETBALL - Fideliter pull off draw with title favourites

Fideliter, with Judy MacDonald on song, cemented their place in the top ranks with a 46-all draw against title favourites Marist in Whangarei premier netball on Saturday.
MacDonald's accuracy at goal shoot was sublime combined with a steady flow of possession through the efforts of outstanding goal defence Lauren Eagle.
Eagle was a workhorse in the defensive end, along with Bridget Eilering in goal keep, to keep Fideliter in the match despite the classy Marist shooting combination.
Marist's shooters, Sophie Tua and Davina Cooper, gave their side every opportunity to take control and ensured a right battle at their end of court.
It was all locked up throughout, but Fideliter had an unsettled third quarter, adjusting slowly to changes and through standout goal attack Megan Harrison coming off injured, Marist took advantage of this and stretched out to an eight-point advantage.
But it wasn't to last, with Fideliter pulling it together in time for a flurry of activity in the final stages to peg it back for the draw.
Hora Hora's June Hilton Jones was a midcourt maestro in her side's 48-35 victory over Whangarei Girls' High School.
Hilton-Jones showed her immense experience and defensive skills throughout the match to unsettle the youngsters and pick up a multitude of intercepts to boot.
It was a fast and physical match-up with the full court pressure defence paying dividends for Hora Hora and with Gail Shepherd and Elysse Lewis shooting well, gave them a tidy advantage heading into the second half.
However WGHS were not going to roll over and let Hora Hora have it all their own way, with Anita Semenoff and Rihannan Reti working hard in attack and Ngahuia Blair shining again in defence. WGHS came back into the game and began to force their more experienced opposition on to the back foot.
In the fourth quarter, the tide turned again in Hora Hora's favour and with more defensive pressure, Hora Hora secured the match and their first up win in the crucial championship round.
In the final match of the day, Marist Combined came out on top 55-46 against Takahiwai in a high-scoring affair.
Marist didn't have it all their own way, with the advantage see-sawing throughout and Takahiwai even taking the lead in the third period.
It was certainly a day for the shooters with Marist's Nicky Taylor and Takahiwai's Ramarie Pirihi the main contributors.
Taylor's height and positional play was too much for the Takahiwai defence to counter, Taylor combined well with her feeders and her accuracy kept her side confident.
And, for Takahiwai, Pirihi's high work-rate and leadership was evident. This, along with a good tactical positional change in the second half, gave Takahiwai a fighting chance for the victory.
But Marist's final quarter was clinical and along with introducing some fresh legs into the mix came away with a decisive victory.