Quins get better of closest rival

Some more pieces in the Marlborough premier netball puzzle fell into place at Stadium 2000 tonight.

In the battle of the two leading sides, Harlequins Indevin established boasting rights heading towards play-off time with a solid 64-51 victory over Pelorus Edridge Contracting.

On an evening when all three matches were closely-contested, Marlborough Girls’ College moved a step closer to a semifinal position with a gritty 51-43 victory over Tokomaru while Harlequins Fairweathers came close to their first win of the season, only to be denied by Pelorus Gill Construction in the final quarter, losing the closest match of the evening 51-49.

The Quins v Pelorus clash opened the evening’s entertainment, last year’s finalists producing a high-intensity tussle.

The first quarter was tight, possession evenly shared, and with key shooters Paige Lovell and Wiri Bristowe on target the margin was just two after 15 minutes.

However, in the second stanza the reigning champs flexed their muscle, putting up 26 shots to their rival’s 14 and forging a 35-27 advantage at halftime. Two breaking calls off their centre pass did not help the Pelorus cause while the Quins defence, led by the inspirational Wendy Trolove, was quick to pounce on opposition errors.

By three quarter time Quins had stretched their lead to 13, which was to be the final margin, an advantage a side with their level of experience is never likely to let slip.

The partnership of Bridget Gane and Simone Pedersen in midcourt continues to flourish for Quins, while Bristowe showed her versatility and wide range of skills by excelling at both ends of the court, moving into defence in the second half hour.

Pelorus, who used just seven players, will rue a couple of lack-lustre patches in the middle of the match. They were well served by defender Danelle Moffatt, who put in a big shift, plus ever-improving GA Megan Cosgrove.

Harlequins Fairweathers will still be wondering how they managed to let a potential winning position slip in their clash with Pelorus Gills Construction.

After the first quarter was drawn Quins produced a top second stanza to forge a 29-22 lead at halftime, keeper Aston Underwood and GD Kirsty Boase leading the defence while GS Jorja Bacchus was composed under the hoop.

However, their lead was short-lived, Pelorus levelling the score by the end of the third quarter on the back of some accurate shooting from Zoe Jordaan and Karli Murphy.

Anna Thomas, Michelle MacDonald and Charlene Wills worked hard for Pelorus in midcourt as the tide turned. Their side carried that momentum into the final 15 minutes, holding their nerve as the scores see-sawed, then landing five of the final eight goals to get the job done and effectively clinching a play-off position.

The evening’s final match-up saw MGC take on Tokomaru. The students came out firing, surging to a 28-22 lead at halftime as they applied defensive pressure throughout court to a strangely-hesitant Toko unit.

With regular defender Izzy Tupouto’a excelling alongside Hazel Glover at the attacking end and Poppy Lane teaming with Brooke Harper in the defensive circle MGC were well in control.

However, a lower leg injury to Lane near the end of the second quarter necessitated an MGC reshuffle for the remainder of the match, the resulting loss of momentum allowing Toko to regroup as they won the third quarter and reduced the margin to just five goals.

However, this was the students’ night and they dominated possession in the final quarter, attempting 23 shots to their rival’s 13, and shut Toko out of the game.

Middies Ella Sowman, Liz Pousima and Delyth James-Sitters were leading performers for MGC, while Chloe Devir, Shannon McManaway and Hana Wilson battled effectively throughout for Toko.

Next Tuesday sees the final week of round robin play, before the semifinals the following week.

Scores:

Harlequins Indevin 64 (Wiri Bristowe 28/35, Lauren Murray 9/13, Ramona Waikato 2/4, Fiaali’I Solomona 25/31) Pelorus Edridge Contracting 51 (Paige Lovell 34/41, Megan Cosgrove 17/21). Quarter scores (winning team first): 17-15, 18-12, 17-12, 12-12.

Marlborough Girls’ College 51 (Anel Moli 21/31, Hazel Glover 23/36, Izzy Tupouto’a 7/7) Tokomaru Crafar Crouch 43 (Gemma Hika 25/32, Tamara Acott 5/7, Naomi Fowler 13/17). Quarter scores: 15-11, 13-11, 9-10, 14-11.

Pelorus Gill Construction 51 (Liv Pinkerton 14/18, Karli Murphy 11/19, Zoe Jordaan 26/38) Harlequins Fairweathers 49 (Jorja Bacchus 36/45, Sophie Ridley-Scott 13/21). Quarter scores: 14-14, 8-15, 16-9, 13-11.

Points after week four of round two: Harlequins Indevin 12, Pelorus Edridge Contracting 9, Pelorus Gill Construction 7, MGC 6, Tokomaru 4, Harlequins Fairweathers 1.