Win gives Tasmanu19s a shot at ninth in nationals
There were smiles all round in the Tasman under-19 netball camp last night after they secured their second win of the tournament by beating Eastern 42-30 on day three of the national age group champs in Auckland.
As well as making them unbeaten in their last three matches, the result saw the Nelson-Marlborough combined outfit finish top of their three-team post-pool section and put them in the best possible position to reach their goal of ninth place.
Tasman suffered a minor setback early yesterday when starting goal defence Rosa Edwards was struck down with a vomiting bug and was unable to play.
That forced coach Robyn Leonard into shuffling her starting lineup slightly, with wing defence Ashley Laing joining Marlborough goal keep Portia Barcello in the defensive circle.
However, the changes had little effect on Tasman and after establishing a 14-12 lead at the end of a high-scoring first quarter, they put their foot on the gas in the second stanza. The 9-3 quarter gave them a 23-15 halftime advantage.
Eastern fought back after the break, but they could only trim the margin by one goal in the third period.
Like the second quarter, the final 10 minutes saw Tasman in control as they bettered Eastern by five goals and sealed a comfortable win.
As with their first win of the tournament, Leonard said the major reason they were victorious was the outstanding work of their defence and despite having spent little time playing together, Barcello and Laing combined superbly.
Centre Ella Marwick and wing attack Michaela Matenga featured strongly on attack, feeding Marlborough goal shoot Gemma Hika nicely all match. Goal attack Lauren Murray, of Marlborough, played three quarters and was also highly impressive.
Tasman faced South Canterbury at 9.15 this morning for a spot in the ninth-place playoff, which was scheduled for 1pm today.
The two sides met twice during the Queen’s Birthday Weekend tournament in Christchurch, with Tasman winning once and losing once.
Leonard said her team would need to be at their best if they were to make it two victories over South Canterbury for the season.