Netball: Flawless Sting storm to win

By JULIE ASH

The Southern Sting proved they are going to take some beating with an almost faultless performance against the Canterbury Flames yesterday.

As expected, the match was tight and the Flames were in the game right up until the last quarter before the defending champions put the throttle down and stormed away for a 58-49 victory - much to the delight of the capacity crowd at Stadium Southland.

Joining the Sting as fourth-round winners were the Auckland Diamonds, who edged out the Otago Rebels 44-39, the Force, who thrashed the Western Flyers 80-42, and the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic, who surprisingly had to pull out all stops to beat the Capital Shakers 55-51.

In the keenly awaited showdown between the two unbeaten South Island teams, the telling difference was the Sting's composure and near-perfect timing throughout the court.

Sting defenders Anna Galvan and Jenny Ferguson made life extremely difficult for the Flames attack, and Sting wing attack Adine Harper was unstoppable, picking up her third player of the match award in four games, which should ensure her place in the Silver Ferns side to be named tomorrow to play Australia.

The Sting led at every quarter but the Flames came back midway through the third quarter, taking the score to 33-all.

The Sting were ahead by four going into the last quarter - a lead which was quickly extended after a run of five unanswered goals.

The Flames let themselves down by making too many errors in the most crucial part of the game.

The sides were fairly even in terms of shooting.

The Sting combination of Donna Loffhagen and Natalie Avellino secured 58 from 66 and the Flames' Belinda Colling and Jodi Te Huna scored 49 from 59.

The most surprising result was the closeness of the Magic's win over the less-fancied Shakers.

The Magic led by one at the first quarter but it was the Shakers who went into the halftime break ahead, 27-24. The Magic side, who include New Zealand squad members Irene van Dyk, Leana du Plooy, Joline Henry and Laura Langman, fought back in the third to lead 39-36 before winning the match by a mere four goals.

What was impressive in the match was the accuracy of shooting from both sides.

Rebels Katie Ritchie and Jo Brown secured 51 from 56 and the Magic's Irene van Dyk and Anna Senio landed 55 from 60.

"We found that the Shakers had put together a solid, quick game and we took a while to adjust to that," said Magic coach Nicole Dryden.

"Their defenders [Megan Hutton and Cushla Lichtwark] really applied the pressure to Irene and maybe we didn't react to that quickly enough."

Silver Ferns captain Anna Rowberry helped to spark the Diamonds to a much-needed win over the Rebels.

After a month out with an arm injury, the fleet-footed Rowberry - playing at wing attack - brought back some much needed drive through the midcourt and into attack.

In what could be described only as a scrappy match, the Diamonds took control in the second quarter and led 24-17 at halftime.

The young Rebels side struggled with handling errors, particularly on attack, where they found it difficult to get the ball past the experienced Diamonds duo of Lorna Suafoa and Kathryn Harby-Williams.

Rebels defenders Anna Scarlett and Stephanie Bond appeared frustrated by the umpiring and could perhaps take a leaf out of the book of Harby-Williams, a former Australian captain, who simply adjusted her game.

The Diamonds could have run away with the game but were guilty of too many stressed and misdirected passes which enabled the Rebels to stay close.

"Our defence kept us in the game," said Diamonds coach Joan Hodson.

"Without them we could have kissed that game goodbye so I am really thankful for them.

"Attacking-wise I wish they had that same attitude ... unyielding."

National Bank Cup squads and draw