Devon lifts to blunt Arrows

DEVON proved it was the most improved side in the competition, shocking AYCFriends Arrows with a 53-40 win in yesterday’s State League netball action.

Devon bounced back from its 55-32 loss to Cripps Waratah on Saturday to record its first victory over Arrows in many years, winning all four bonus points to push into the top four.

From the first whistle Devon showed its intentions to open up an early lead as Lucy Vercher and Emily Miles worked hard to shut down the Arrows circle.

Jamie Easther at shooter for Devon helped capitalise on turnovers late in the quarter with a string of unanswered goals as Devon opened up a 14-8 lead at the first break.

Arrows made some changes in the second half with Hayley Sansom joining Sophie Gunn in goals. Gunn was impressive scoring 11 from 11 as they closed the gap slightly early in the quarter before Devon extended its lead to 27-19 at half time.

Arrows started the third term making inroads into the Devon lead, but again Devon lifted with Arrows trying multiple rotations to shut down Eliza Jones through the centre. Devon scored the last four goals of the quarter as Hannah Lee stepped up in the circle and Devon took a 39-29 lead into the last.

Arrows again got the jump on Devon to score the first four goals of the quarter, but Devon stayed composed with Chelsea Mawer at wing attack feeding well into Lee and Easther.

Gunn battled hard for Arrows all game, scoring all but one of their goals but it was Devon’s day.

Northern Hawks made it a tough weekend for Arrows with a 72-48 win on Saturday.

In other matches, Cavaliers beat St LukesHealth Karana 64-19 on Saturday and backed up with an impressive 56-29 win against Cripps yesterday; while Hawks once again stamped their authority in the second half during their 80-43 win over Kingston.