Whāngārā had some great passages of play through court, but Horouta kept applying the pressure forcing more turnovers in a dominant 14-7 spell to take the win 58-37.
In the 7.30pm game Turanga FM YMP played Whāngārā OG 1 in another replay of last year’s grand final.
YMP started the match with intent, sinking the first five goals in a row.
Their defence was strong from the get go, forcing errors and utilising any ball they picked up to take a decisive 13-6 lead into the first break.
The second quarter was much like the first – Whāngārā struggling to get ball into the shooters, and their shooters being accurate under the post.
The 12-7 scoreline enabled YMP to extend their lead to 12 by halftime (25-13).
In the third quarter, they put their foot down.
Defenders Keasi Fonohema-Williams and Bronya McMenamin had beautiful space marking in the circle, giving the illusion of space to Whāngārā, but picking up plenty of intercepts.
The through-court zone defence rattled Whāngārā and forced multiple turnovers, providing a dominating 20-7 quarter score to push their lead out to 25 by the third quarter break (45-20).
The final quarter flowed better, and Whāngārā shooters found their rhythm in the closest quarter of the game – 17-14 to YMP.
YMP 1 picked up the four points from the game with a convincing 28-goal win - 62-34.
Tomorrow sees the courts back to full swing with all grades back in action.
Just the one game in the premier grade competition in the YMCA .
Gisborne Girls’ High Senior A take on Character Roofing YMP 2 in what should be a close game starting at 9am.
Last time they met the results were pretty even, it should be a good match up.
