Netball: Force shut out star shooter in upset win

By JENNI RUTHERFORD

The Force are among the national netball league pacesetters after upsetting match favourites the Diamonds 52-41 in the second round of the Coca-Cola Cup at the North Shore Events Centre yesterday.

The North Shore-based franchise dominated from the starting whistle, with exceptional mid-court and defence totally dominating any ball to Diamonds sharpshooter Elaine Davis.

Silver Fern Linda Vagana at goal keep and goal defence Tania Nicholson's work rates were exceptional, double-teaming Davis and pushing goal attack Kylie Hall to the top of the circle, forcing her to shoot wide.

In the first quarter only three of Hall's nine attempts found their target. Nicholson played most of the game from the floor, fighting for every ball, which often sent her tumbling.

Force coach Maria Lynch's game plan of shutting down all channels to Davis worked a gem, with Vagana and Nicholson acting as an effective last line of defence.

"I was very pleased with the way all the girls played, not just in defence but every position worked together to starve Elaine of the ball," she said.

"Once she gets [the ball], she gets it in, so the plan was to give her no possession."

Of the ball she did receive, Davis only missed four shots, netting 28 of 32 attempts.

"We know she is an exceptional shooter - she shot 59 of 64 goals last week [against the Rebels]. Today she was still as accurate but didn't have as many chances at goal," said Lynch.

Diamonds captain Nicky Read said her team had turned in a lacklustre performance.

"We were on the back foot from the start. We played to their game and didn't react quick enough to their play," she said.

At no time did the Diamonds challenge the Force, never coming within four goals of them.

At the first quarter the Force led 14-7, with four goals up before the Diamonds had even scored. The Force moved to 26-17 at halftime and raced away in the third quarter to be ahead by 12.

Their defence dropped in the final spell, with the Diamonds passing directly from mid-court to Davis under the goal, allowing her to notch up a 10-from-10 tally for the quarter.

The CMTV Cometz were demolished by the Capital Shakers 43-56 at Wellington yesterday. The Shakers dominated from the start, with the Cometz failing to put any pressure on them.

After ending the first quarter 18-10 up, the Shakers were leading 31-22 at halftime and adding another 11 goals in the third quarter to be ahead 42-31.

The Southern Sting, despite a third-quarter lapse, maintained enough composure to beat the Canterbury Flames 52-42 at Invercargill on Saturday night.

The Sting held a 13-10 lead at the first break before storming ahead in the second spell to be 27-19 up at halftime.

The Flames took advantage in the third quarter, closing the gap to five goals heading into the final phase.

After a thrilling 53-all draw against the Cometz last week, the Western Flyers scored their first victory, beating the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic 56-47 in Rotorua on Saturday.