Inverleigh closes in on a top-five spot
INVERLEIGH coach Steph Burns has praised her side’s ability to convert turnovers into scores after it kept itself firmly in the finals equation with a 15-goal win over Bell Post Hill.
Burns’s players responded to a hard week at training, providing a strong performance for their home supporters.
Inverleigh had the clear advantage for most of the match, holding a 27-16 lead at halftime before maintaining the pressure for the final two quarters, eventually defeating the Panthers 57-42.
For the Hawks, Vanessa FinelyMcDonald was a key factor at the offensive end, finishing with 31 goals, while Burns was equally effective with 26. Abby Croft (16 goals), Kayla Poole (14) and Lauren Burley (12) shared the load for the Panthers.
The victory has the Hawks at five wins, five losses and a draw as they move to sixth, out of the five on percentage, The Panthers dropped to 3-7 and are now two games out of the finals race.
“It was a really well-contested game from both sides. We were really happy that we were converting on their turnovers.” Burns said.
Burns was pleased with her players’ performances despite the team being relatively new.
“Everyone was consistent for four quarters, which is great for us as we are still learning to play with each other,” she said.
Burns referred to Inverleigh’s good preparation in the lead-up to the contest, in which both sides were fighting for their seasons.
“I was hard on them at training and the girls responded well,” Burns said.
Asked how the side could improve, Burns said: “The girls haven’t played a lot of netball together, but as we jell more, the improvement will come — it’s really exciting for the club.”
Burns praised Kelsey Whyte and Carling Southall for their standout performances.
After a slow start from the Giants, Werribee pushed ahead to a 20-point lead at half time.
A strong defensive combination for Werribee — Brigitte Ardossi, Lauren Winter and Paras MacKenzie — took multiple intercepts to set Centurions up for the remainder of the game and Ebony Bennett worked tirelessly in the second half.
Geelong West closed the margin to just nine after winning the third and fourth quarters, with Prue Sanders, Lisa Monaghan and Stacey McKone West’s better players.
Anakie goal shooter Nikki Slaven worked hard as always, but faced determined defence from the North goal keeper Brittany Chapman.
The Magpies’ dominance came from Ashlee Roach, who controlled the centre court.
Anakie’s defenders Clare Sutton and Bridget Byrnes were untiring in their pursuit of the ball. Sutton, especially, forced several turnovers to Anakie’s advantage.
Changes made by North in shifting Stephanie Hillman to centre and Roach to wing attack in the second half helped, with both players taking many intercepts, not allowing Anakie to drive down the court.
Best for Anakie were Slaven, Maddison Richmond and Sutton, with Shae Rowbottom, Roach and Sigrid Mills North’s top performers.
East Geelong started strongly, going into the first change one goal down. Thomson out scored East 23 to 16 in the next two quarters, going into the last break eight goals up before the Eagles came home strongly.
Thomson’s McBain McBain and Julie Mathisen in defence were strong in the middle part of the game, making East’s Megan Cartwright and Emily Rankin work hard in the goaling circle.
In the last quarter, Thomson eased and lost focus on court, which allowed the Eagles, who were building momentum during the game, to take charge and create turnovers in the last.
Thomson’s best were Errin Lang, Joanna Couch and Shannyn Leach.
Injury-stricken Bannockburn started strongly and piled on the pressure, leaving a young Winchelsea side feeling all at sea.
The Blues switched to a hard oneon-one defence, which helped stem the bleeding.
Winch’s Marnie Bruce was excellent against Bannockburn’s tall shooting combination and when attackers Meg Royal and Kendall Carracher demanded the front ball, things eventually opened up.
Georgia Duncan and Chloe Reardon created many intercepts for Bannockburn.