Williams denied in 200th
In her 200th premier one netball match for Inglewood, shooter Wendy Williams looked to have stolen her side a share of the points against Naumai at the buzzer on Thursday night.
With just seconds on the clock and Inglewood down by one, the shot went up quickly, hung on the rim for a second and fell through the twine.
The players turned their attention to the referees, who waved the shot away, giving Naumai a 43-42 win.
The rule is the ball must go through the basket before time expires to count, and Williams’ shot hanging on the rim a touch too long.
‘‘It’s been a long time coming, that’s for sure,’’ Naumai coach Latesha Berry said about the win.
‘‘The girls were prepared for tonight and obviously came out and delivered.’’
Naumai opened with the first two goals as Inglewood came up empty on their first three possessions.
However it didn’t take long for Inglewood to get going, scoring seven straight goals to build a five point lead. It would be the largest lead either side had all game.
Naumai closed the gap to just one goal after the opening period. They levelled it up straight away in the second quarter, however Inglewood went right back in front, capitalising on some turnovers to go up by three again.
Naumai wouldn’t let Inglewood break away and fought hard to get turnovers and make the most of their chances, with centre Zoe Kensington proving to be a handful for Inglewood in the midcourt. Both sides missed a number of shots and turned the ball over which didn’t allow either side to gain any momentum. It was a similar story in the second half, as lazy passes and missed shots turned the match into a real grind.
‘‘I think that’s just the way to competition is at the moment. Everybody’s hungry to get a win and that’s all part of it,’’ Berry said about the scrappy match.
Naumai claimed the better of the play in the third quarter and levelled the scores heading into the final 15 minutes.
Naumai goal-keep Taylor Kahui and Williams showed their desire for the win as they thrust their body after lose balls, with Kahui diving to the floor to save a loose ball in the latter stages. In the end, Naumai were able to grind out an
important victory – just.
‘‘I was impressed with the way they played in that last quarter.
‘‘They came out and played smart, they held the ball, they had possession for long periods of time which was good. It helped us obviously gain that one point at the end.’’
In the other results, StratfordEltham claimed a 56-53 win over New Plymouth Old Boys, while Tysons beat New Plymouth Girls’ High School 79-30.