U-17 netballers down to last 16

Wairarapa have reached the last 16 at the national under-17 netball tournament in Wanganui.
They opened their involvement in pool play with a convincing 42-21 over Taupo after leading 11-4 at the end of the first quarter, 23-9 at halftime and 32-14 at the end of the third quarter.
Wairarapa picked up a turnovers right through the court and their shooters capitalised by turning most of their chances into points on the board.
Coach Robyn Schischka used nine players during the course of the game and was delighted with the way the combinations worked no matter what the personnel was.
Second up Wairarapa met Thames Valley and after trailing 7-9 at the end of the first quarter levelled up at 14-14 at halftime.
The third quarter saw Wairarapa move out to a 24-18 advantage, a lead they increased by a further four goals in the last quarter.
Schischka said Wairarapa were slow to settle into a rhythm in this game with Thames Valley testing their defence.
Positional changes made to the midcourt at haltime, however, worked well with Wairarapa stamping their authority on proceedings from then on.
Wairarapa continued their unbeaten record with a 20-12 win over Bay of Plenty yesterday morning.
Again they started tentatively and trailed 2-4 at the end of a low scoring first quarter but by halftime they led 8-7.
By the end of the third quarter Wairarapa had moved out to a 14-10 lead and again they finished well in the last quarter where they restricted Bay of Plenty to just the two goals.
The fourth and final pool game was against Hamilton City and while the latter won 23-21 Wairarapa played well in what was a physical game, a couple of basic errors in the closing stages being all that stopped them from securing another win.
Wairarapa did lead 15-11 at halftime but the third quarter was a":killer" with Hamilton City scoring nine goals there compared to Wairarapa's two.
Their three wins left Wairarapa second in their pool and qualified them for the last 16 playoffs where their opening match was against the powerful Manawatu side.
Manawatu won 29-14 but were given a hard match by a determined Wairarapa side which often disrupted their play with stern defence.
Manawatu led 16-12 at halftime and increased their advantage by just one over the last two quarters.
UNDER 15s
The Wairarapa under-15s have made an excellent start to their regional tournament,winning their first three pool games.
Captain Te Ata Phillips led by example as Wairarapa demolished Harbourside B 48-19 in their opening game and also shining was her sister Waimarama who had a 87 per cent success rate with her shooting.
Game two against Te Puke saw Wairarapa start slowly but again shooters Waimarama Phillips and Tania Strange led the way as they recovered to win 32-13. Alana Strange made many clean intercepts in midcourt.
Wairarapa completed the first day with a 35-19 victory over Hastings.Here too they started slowly but with their defence headed by Victoria Green taking control they finished too strongly for their opposition.
Coach Kim Whiteman praised her side's enthusiasm and determination and was especially happy with their defensive work.