New Zealand delivered yet another relentless performance in downing Trinidad and Tobago 75-23 at the world netball championship in Singapore tonight.
In their final pool match of the tournament, the Silver Ferns delivered a predictably organised performance to dominate each quarter and secure a quarterfinal berth against either South Africa or Botswana on Friday.
After two lop-sided wins -- an initially patchy 80-26 win over Fiji followed by yesterday's 91-21 thumping of Wales -- New Zealand coach Ruth Aitken continued to test-drive a range of combinations.
Irene van Dyk and Maria Tutaia again shouldered the early shooting duties, with Liana Leota getting her first start to date at wing attack.
Laura Langman ran the midcourt from centre, with Joline Henry at wing defence and captain Casey Williams at goal defence. Anna Scarlett, mainly used to date at wing defence, started at goal keep.
It was a combination that proved clinicaly efficient, swinging the ball downcourt with rhythm and timing for van Dyk and Tutaia to finish off.
The understanding between Leota and Langman was also a feature, and their fluent feed into the circle impressive.
In contrast, Trinidad and Tobago looked ponderous, and struggled to break through the Silver Ferns' stifling whole-court defence. It took over 10 minutes for their first goal to fall, and the Silver Ferns led 19-4 at the first break.
Leana de Bruin came on for Scarlett in the second spell, but Aitken otherwise stuck with her starting line-up which rolled relentlessly on to lead 37-11 at halftime.
Tutaia and van Dyk between them missed only two goals between them in 30 minutes, their 95 per cent success rate in stark contrast to Trinidad and Tobago's 69 per cent.
Aitken shuffled her combinations at the break, bringing Paula Griffin and Anna Thompson on at goal shoot and goal attack, and replacing Langman with George.
Scarlett returned at wing defence, and Katrina Grant took over duties at the back as the Silver Ferns continued their domination to lead 55-18 at the three-quarter mark.
The same combination saw the game out to its inevitable conclusion, New Zealand taking the final stanza 20-5 to underline a dominant performance.
It has been some time since Trinidad and Tobago have pressed New Zealand -- in fact, the last time the two teams met was in 1999 when the Silver Ferns racked up a 33-goal win at the world championship in Christchurch.Prior to that, Trinidad and Tobago had pushed New Zealand regularly, and managed a narrow one-goal win in their three-test tour of 1988.
Today's match was a milestone for Aitken -- it was her 107th game in 10 years at the helm, and surpassed the previous record of 106 held by master coach Lois Muir, who guided the Silver Ferns for 15 years.
- NZPA
Netball: Relentless Silver Ferns roll on
Crystal Ann George of Trinidad & Tobago attempts to block Irene Van Dyk. Photo / Getty Images
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
