Cripps, Flames keep finals hopes burning

CRIPPS Waratah and Karana Flames kept their finals hopes alive in an exciting weekend of State League netball.

AYC-Friends Arrows handed Northern Hawks their first loss of the season, but then lost to Cavaliers.

And Kingston coach Erin Baker was awarded her Elite Coaching Accreditation.

A momentum-swinging first quarter saw Cripps open a 12-6 lead before Kingston was able to remain focused to close the gap to two heading into the first break.

A great start to the second quarter by Kingston saw it create turnovers. Strong work by Sarah Scott and Lucy Bosker through the centre court resulted in a 26-23 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, scores were level early before a wayward Kingston centre pass allowed Cripps to take the lead.

A beautiful intercept to Kingston’s Millie von Stieglitz saw her team draw back level, but a chance to regain the lead through an intercept by keeper Emma Johns went unrewarded as Cripps took a 36-35 lead.

Cripps started the last quarter well, with a strong zone through the centre forcing turnovers and a 46-38 lead.

An injury to Cripps shooter Beth Pullen threatened to derail their dominance as young shooter Lauren Thornbury entered the court, but she was able to hold her own as Cripps kept their finals chances alive with the 52-45 win.

Cripps coach Fiona Moore said: “We’re really pleased with the last quarter to finish strong. We were consistent all game. We kept to the game plan and built every quarter.”

Kingston coach Alicia Leis acknowledged the side had had a few challenging weeks with injury, illness and player unavailability.

“It was a disappointing result. But we’ve put ourselves in a strong position on the ladder, so we’ll consolidate our game over the coming weeks,” she said.

Arrows set up their 68-63 win over Hawks with a 20-15 first quarter and Hawks were never able to close the gap.

Cavaliers proved their Round-5 45-40 win over Arrows was no fluke as they held on in a thriller.

Despite opening a sevengoal lead in the last, Arrows kept coming, to get back to within one with five minutes to go but Cavaliers remained composed to come away with a 47-45 win.

Karana had a big 76-40 win over Burnie and Devon downed OHA 74-50.