Game 1, Round 8: Celtic Dragons v Glasgow Wildcats
Saturday 13th December 2008, 2pm.
Welsh Institute of Sport, Cardiff.
UMPIRES: Kim Burns / Heather Gleadall
Q1: 8-8
Q2: 16-13
Q3: 30-22
Q4: 39-30
The Celtic Dragons came away with a win in Cardiff tonight, beating Glasgow Wildcats 39-30.
It was a bottom of the table clash, a game important for both teams who had a genuine chance to grab two points for their tally on The Co-operative Superleague table. As a result, the intensity, attitude and excitement of the match was felt from both sides and coaching staff alike.
The first quarter was a tell-tale sign of the two teams in competitive spirits. The quarter went goal for goal and finishing even on 8 goals each.
By the end of the second quarter the home team, Celtic Dragons, began their dominance on the game, eliminating much of the inconsistent play and unforced errors seen in their previous matches. The score was 16-13 at half time.
The third and fourth quarters continued similarly to the second, Celtic Dragons building on their lead, capitalizing on lost Glasgow possession. The score at 3 quarter time, 30-22, and at full time 39-30.
At the end of the match both coaches of the two sides were looking for improvements and into the future.
Glasgow Wildcats Coach Denise Holland said ‘Every player will be disappointed with the performance today especially having defended and won as much possession yet again.
‘We will re-group and focus on taking better care of possession as we head into next week’s game.’ Holland continued, who will take her side north next week to challenge Northern Thunder.
Coach of Celtic Dragons Sue Gaudion was pleased for the win despite seeing more potential in her side. Gaudion said ‘We played much better, we had better ball. We had more consistent patches of play, created some good space on court and brought the ball out well from the defense end.’
Gaudion also said ‘our goal percentage was still down but we had more opportunity than them (Glasgow). It was better stuff and we want to continue from next week.’ Next week Gaudion’s side face Team Northumbria in Newcastle.
Starting Line-Ups:
Glasgow Wildcats:
GS: Jennifer Dingwall
GA: Leslie McDonald
WA: Jenna Storey
C: Fiona Moore
WD: Claire Brownie
GD: Claire Cooper
GK: Hayley Mulheron
Shooting Percentages:
J. Dingwall: 3/6, 50%
L. McDonald: 26/34, 76%
S. Lyon: 0/2, 0%
N. Collins: 1/6, 17%
Overall Team: 48%
Celtic Dragons:
GS: Carlie Ennis
GA: Cara Lea Moseley
WA: Amanda Trounce
C: Suzanne Drane
WD: Emily Rose
GD: Stephanie Williams
GK: Sara Hale
Shooting Percentages:
C. Ennis: 18/30, 60%
C. Lea Moseley: 21/33, 64%
Overall Team: 39/63, 62%
Game 2, Round 8: Mavericks v Team Northumbria
Saturday 13th December 2008, 4pm
Herts Sports Village, Hatfield.
UMPIRES: Janice Treasure / Kylie Woodhead
Q1: 11-8
Q2: 24-18
Q3: 37-27
Q4: 45-36
Mavericks defeated Team Northumbria tonight 45-36 in Hatfield.
Mavericks started the game well; in fact Mavericks were one step ahead of Team Northumbria throughout the whole game. The score at the first break was 11-8 to Mavericks who diligently built on their lead quarter by quarter.
Although Mavericks led throughout the match, it was strong shooting from Aussie GS Carla Dziwoki that kept Team Northumbria in the game. Dziwoki’s strong shooting is a great strength to Team Northumbria and her mid-court worked the ball well around the circle to effectively feed the ball into Dziwoki and GA Vicky Phillips when it counted. At half time Mavericks remained ahead 24-18.
The third quarter continued with Mavericks netting a few more goals extending their lead. Mavericks were 10 goals ahead at 3 quarter time 37-27.
In the fourth quarter Team Northumbria brought on tall GS Emma Lower in an attempt to close the gap between the sides. The move proved effective with Lower causing problems to Mavericks. Team Northumbria managed to pull back just the one goal in this last 15 minutes; however the game belonged to a unified Maverick outfit. Final score 45-36.
Stephina Bello for Mavericks played well at WD, lifting a notch in her performance to outsmart her opponents. And Maverick Captain Louisa Brownfield commented post match ‘A good 2 points for us tonight and Stephina Bello is developing into a player that Mavericks can rely on.’
Maverick Coach Kendra Slawinski commented on the high and low of her team tonight and said after the match ‘I was pleased to use a variety of combinations that show great promise, however the error rate is far too high at this level.’
Team Northumbria Coach Denise Eagan took some positives away from the loss. Eagan said ‘I was pleased the game was well contested and had the opportunity to use our whole bench.’
Starting Line-Ups:
Mavericks:
GS: Ella Clarke
GA: Louisa Brownfield
WA: Chioma Ezeogu
C: Chrissy Fitzgerald
WD: Stephania Bello
GD: Hayley Schofield
GK: Naida Hutchinson
Shooting Percentages:
L. Brownfield: 27/33, 82%
M. Hall: 7/10, 70%
G. Wiseman: 4/7, 57%
E. Clarke: 7/14, 50%
Overall Team: 45/64, 70%
Team Northumbria:
GS: Carla Dziwoki
GA: Vicky Phillips
WA: Talei Bari
C: Marie Ewing
WD: Tessa Burton
GD: Natalie Connor
GK: Sarah Penny
Shooting Percentages:
C. Dziwoki: 29/32, 91%
V. Phillips: 3/8, 38%
E. Lower, 4/6, 67%
Overall Team: 36/46, 78%
Game 3, Round 8.
Loughborough Lightning v TeamBath
Netball Centre, Loughborough University.
Saturday 13th December 2008, 6pm.
UMPIRES: Jo Kelly / Louise Travis
Q1: 11-16
Q2: 23-30
Q3: 37-41
Q4: 48-59
TeamBath have successfully won the top of the table clash against Loughborough Lightning 48-59, to remain leaders of The Co-operative Netball Superleague 08-09 in Loughborough tonight.
Both teams came out strong from the outset. Those sitting in the crowd witnessed the fighting spirit from both teams. A strong will to win was clearly the player mindset in this extremely competitive match of the round. After the first 15 minutes of play the score was 11-16 to TeamBath.
Only one change was made going into the second quarter, TeamBath brought on Gemma Fletcher at GD. A 3 goal lead made in the first quarter was extended to a 7 goal lead from TeamBath by half time.
At the break TeamBath re-shuffled their shooters and mid-court and Loughborough introduced Alex Kirk to the game at GA. The re-shuffle from Bath proved to be a rough exchange as TeamBath going down this quarter, Loughborough pulling back 3 goals to be within 4 goals of the lead.
In the final quarter the new TeamBath combination found their feet and went on to stamp their authority on the game, winning by 11 goals 48-59.
TeamBath were all smiles at the full-time whistle. Captain Pamela Cookey said ‘It was a tough competitive match as we expected and were very pleased with the win.’
TeamBath Coach Jess Garland said ‘I’m very pleased with our start. Loughborough applied the pressure as expected in the middle of the game. But I’m very pleased with our biggest win in the away fixture (against Loughborough).
Olivia Murphy, Loughborough Lightning Captain wasn’t overly disappointed in the loss tonight. She said ‘We performed really well; we gave them a bit of a scare and can be pleased. There was a point in the 3rd quarter when we pulled back within 1 or 2 goals and missed the chance to equalize and take them.
‘It was a tough match and the 11 goal win is flattering to TeamBath. We are looking over our shoulder into the rest of the season and preparing for a tough match against Brunel next week.’ Said Murphy.
Starting Line-Ups:
Loughborough Lightning:
GS: Becky James
GA: Jo Harten
WA: Natasha Hampshire
C: Olivia Murphy
WD: Jade Clarke
GD: Emma Bliss
GK: Hannah Reid
Shooting Percentages:
B. James: 13/15, 86%
J. Harten: 25/34, 76%
A. Kirk: 10/18, 56%
Overall Team: 76%
Starting Line-Ups:
TeamBath:
GS: Pamela Cookey
GA: Tamsin Greenway
WA: Sasha Corbin
C: Jo Binns
WD: Sara Bayman
GD: Gemma Fletcher
GK: Eboni Beckford-Chambers
Shooting Percentages:
P. Cookey: 29/34, 85%
T. Greenway: 12/17, 71%
R. Dunn: 18/20, 90%
Overall Team: 83%