College overcome stiff Feilding A2 resistance

Poor old Feilding A2 can’t catch a break.

The whipping girls of the club netball competition played one of their better halves of the season in their 53-44 loss to College Old Girls at the Arena on Tuesday night, but couldn’t keep it up for a whole game.

With the scores level 25-all at halftime, College hit their straps in the second half and once they did they looked good and pulled away.

Winless Feilding protected the ball better in the first half and would always have someone available in space to receive the pass, with midcourters Holly Cameron and centre Jordyn Rogers-holden feeding the shooting circle well.

After the break College improved and took the lead mid way through the third spell, before gaining an eight-point lead at the end of the third.

Joyce Ohlson was back at goal attack for College this week and she made a big difference as they went back on the attack in the third quarter, where they outscored Feilding 16-8.

Feilding kept up the pace in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t erase the deficit.

Kuini Chase played well at goal defence for College and Manta Maxwell was busy yet again, shooting 41 from 44.

Standout players for Feilding were goal keep Darnelle Nugento’leary and goal shoot Sam Rowe, sho shot confidently, scoring 28 from 31. A powerful second half set

up for a 58-35 win over

Massey Feilding A1.

The sides were neck and neck in the first half and Feilding were testing the defending champions.

But Feilding couldn’t keep up the intensity and the clinical Massey, who snuck out to a 28-24 lead at halftime, pulled away as Feilding scored a woeful four goals in the third quarter and only 11 goals in the half.

Massey’s speed of ball movement at the start of the game

made it look easy, and Feilding were struggling top get the ball into the circle and no-one was driving into space.

But all of a sudden, Feilding’s midcourt started denying Massey of any space and disrupting their attacks.

Massey were trying to do things too fast, and were forced into mistakes, but once they settled down in the second half they looked better and Feilding couldn’t keep up the pressure.

Even though Massey made a few mistakes, they made sure the Feilding shooters saw hardly any ball in the second half.

Massey midcourter Steph Collins was flying around the court at full speed, firing ball into their shooting circle and Kahu Sturmey worked hard at wing defence and goal defence. Olivia Tilyard was strong in defence too.

Feilding’s best were shooter Maila Muliaga, Brenna Romley at centre and wing attack, and Jayne Darbyshire, who played only half at goal keep.

The jostling in positions three to six continued, as moved up into third with a 52-36 win over

Rahui

Palmerston North Girls’ High School.

Rahui, College Old Girls, Manukura Red and Feilding A1 are all within two points of each other.

The schoolgirls led Rahui 9-8 after the first quarter, but Rahui doubled Girls’ High’s score in the second stanza to take a 24-17 lead at halftime. Rahui increased their lead to 12 and held that for most of the second half.

The game between top-of-thetable and

was shifted because the Red team had interschool games this week. It was played at Massey last week and Black won 69-67.

There are two more rounds before the playoffs.

After the second round finishes, there will be playoffs for places three to eight, then the grand final between the top two sides, already confirmed as Massey and Manukura Black, is on Friday, September 1.

Manukura Black Manukura Red