Wairarapa completed their pool play in the regional superleague netball competition on a high note with a 52-36 win over Taita at Taita on Sunday.
Coach Kelly Sargent was pleased with the commitment shown by her side in a game coming just two days after they had been soundly beaten by
St Marys Old Girls in Masterton.
That defeat effectively ended any chance Wairarapa of winning the superleague title and Sargent said the message to the players going into the Taita game was a simple one.
"The whole emphasis was on forgetting about what had happened before and enjoying ourselves," she said.
With several players out with injury, Sargent was forced to draft herself into the starting line-up and the former national league player concedes her extra height was probably an advantage in the shooting circle.
"I guess it gave the feeders a taller target to feed to and so we had more shots on goal," she said.
Making her debut in the starting seven as well was wing defence Victoria Green and she had a strong game as did other defensive players in Bridget Minehan and Sarah Brooking.
Wairarapa will now play off for between ninth and 12th positions in the superleague series, a situation which Sargent sees as "pretty disappointing" because it did not reflect their potential.
"We are a better team than that but unfortunately that hasn't come through in our results, she said.
