Uni Premier Reserve win real nail-biter as result decided in final second

Caitlin Kilgour at GA for Uni Premier. Photo / Judy Macdonald

Indoor Premier Results
University of Waikato Premier 68 vs FTNC Premier Reserve 33
Waikato Diocesan Open A 23 vs FTNC Premier 62
Hamilton Girls High Premier 50 vs St Peters Premier 57
Verdettes Marist Premier 43 vs University of Waikato Premier Reserve 44
Nottingham Castle Rangers 57 vs Iwi Karaearea Premier 36
Verdettes Marist Old Girls vs St Pauls Collegiate Open - Old Girls win by Default

The second week of the indoor premier netball competition saw a real nail-biter with the result of the game between Verdettes Marist Premier and University of Waikato Premier Reserve going down to the last second.

The Uni Premier Reserve were the eventual winners in what was a close and tightly contested game.

The Uni Premier Reserve team had a slim one goal lead at the end of the first quarter and the second quarter was a draw so at halftime the score was 26 goals to 25.

The second half was much of the same with Uni Premier Reserve creeping ahead to lead by two goals at the end of the third quarter.

Marist Premier came back to be within a goal at the final whistle. Final score was 44 goals to 43.

Both teams were desperate for their first win. For Uni Premier Reserve it really was a whole team effort particularly on defence which was applied well throughout the court.

A number of combinations were also tried throughout the game. The players adapted well to the changes made and stayed composed throughout the last quarter where they were under pressure.

The team still has things to work on but overall a really great effort and happy with a win.

For Marist Premier it was a massive step up after last week's performance. As a team they played with a lot more structure and stuck to the game plan for the most part and there were some really good periods of play.

The game was theirs for the taking and came down to making good decisions under pressure.

The standouts were Melissa Bowkett at wing defence as she dominated her opposition.
A great performance from the youngest player in the team.

Erana Taylor at goal shoot and dominated the shooting circle and had a really solid shooting performance.

McKenzie Northcott at WA for Uni Premier Reserve. Photo / Judy Macdonald

The other close and very competitive game was that between St Peters Premier and Hamilton Girls High Premier.

St Peters started well to be up by four goals at the end of the first quarter but at half time this was reversed with Hamilton Girls leading by three goals.

The halftime score was 29 goals to 26. St Peters then again had another dominant quarter to take the lead again at the end of the third quarter to lead by four goals and they also finished strongly to win the game 57 goals to 50.

St Peters only had seven of their normal players as four players were overseas for basketball.

Overall they played well and showed consistency throughout the game.

There was a standout performance from Sophie Waddell at goal keep playing up from the premier reserve team. Waddell and Katie Te Ao at goal defence were disruptive to the opposition shooters and picked up crucial ball.

Atlanta Bruce at goal shoot also had a good game. Bruce held well, rebounded well and took the ball strong.

For Hamilton Girls they are still trialling combinations and all players get court time.

There were patches of good through court play with great use of the ball and space.

Hannah Coffin played well at both ends of the court at firstly goal shoot then goal keep, showing her versatility.

Coffin picked up some tips and intercepts on defence. Mya Meadows at goal defence and centre demonstrated her fitness and leadership as captain. Overall a highly skilled and great display of young talent.

Georgia Pompey at WA for Iwi Karaearea. Photo / Judy Macdonald

The other quite close game was that between Nottingham Castle Rangers and Iwi Karaearea Premier.

Iwi had a slim one goal lead at the end of the first quarter which they maintained in the second quarter to lead by 24 goals to 23.

The second half saw Castle Rangers get serious and they led by five goals at the end of the third quarter and they comprehensively won the final quarter to win the game 57 goals to 36.

Overall not a score that reflected three quarters of the game.

In the other games University of Waikato Premier had another good showing with a win against Fraser Tech Netball Centre Premier Reserve.

Uni Premier had a slow start to the game only ahead by three goals at the end of the first quarter but after than they were completely dominant with a particularly big third quarter.

The halftime score was 28 goals to 19 and the final score was 68 goals to 33.

The FTNC Premier team also had a solid win in their game against Waikato Diocesan Open A.

The FTNC Premier team showed ruthlessness to be ahead by 18 goals at half time and won the game 62 goals to 23.

At times the Diocesan team displayed some good netball but they were not able to always convert this to points with some solid defence from their experienced opposition.

Overall a cohesive team effort from the FTNC Premier team.

St Pauls Collegiate Open players were competing overseas this week so not able to play which gave Verdettes Marist Old Girls a win by default.