Reigning ANZ Premiership champions, Southern Steel fended off NSWIS 71-66 in their round 4 clash at the inaugural Super Club competition at the Trafalgar Centre, Nelson on Wednesday 5 July.

Going into the game both teams had two wins under their belts, having defeated South Africa’s Gauteng Jaguars and the University of Trinidad and Tobago.

Head Coach Briony Akle, was pleased with effort displayed by the team against Steel, whose line up included four Silver Ferns.

“They [NSWIS] maintained strong pressure throughout the whole game.

“At one point in the third quarter, we only trailed by four goals.

“This is the third game the team has played together and with every game are improving.

NSWIS’ young shooters shot at an average of 85% against Steel’s 72% performance, demonstrating their ability to perform against world class defenders such as Te Huinga Selby-Rickit and Jane Watson

“Our shooters performed well tonight, especially under a different defensive style.

“Our on-court combinations continue to grow and I’m really happy with how they are developing throughout the competition,” said Akle.

The first quarter saw Steel take an immediate lead, NSWIS seeming unable feed into the goal third without a turnover. Both teams appeared to be feeling the pressure of the play with novice mistakes happening. NSWIS fought their way back into the game to only trail by 6 goals going into the first break.

The second quarter saw a lift from the young NSWIS side with shooter Georgia Marshall slotting in some long range goals, in partnership with Kristina Brice who was shooting at an impressive 90% accuracy. However, Steels relentless attacking front allowed them to increase their lead by 10 goals, going into half time 29-39.

The third quarter saw some changes on court for NSWIS with Sophie Garbin to GA, Taylah Davies to C, Toni Anderson to GD and Amy Parmenter to WD. This new line up reinvigorated NSWIS who scored the first 4 goals of the quarter to slowly close the goal gap. At the other end of the court defensive duo, Sarah Klau and Toni Anderson created crucial intercepts countering Steel’s 198cm shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid for NSWIS to maintain the goal difference 57-47.

With 15 minutes on the clock, NSWIS contested each pass, albeit Steel seemed to be playing a game of their own. With five minutes togo Steel extended their lead to the largest it had been to end the game 61-77.

NSWIS will play tomorrow night, Thursday 6 July at 6.30pm NZST (4.30pm EST) for a place in the grand final. This will be broadcast live via SKY Sport 4 and Netball New Zealand Facebook page here.

Quarter-by-Quarter Scores
SOUTHERN STEEL | Q1: 19 – Q2: 20 (39) – Q3: 18 (57) – Q4: 20 (77)
NSWIS | Q1: 13 – Q2: 16 (29) – Q3: 18 (47) – Q4: 14 (61)

Starting Line-ups

NSWIS | GS Kristina Brice, GA Georgia Marshall, WA Taylah Davies, C Maddy Proud, WD Toni Anderson, GD Maddy Turner, GK Sarah Klau, Tayla Fraser, Angela Frketic, Lauren Moore, Taylah Davies Georgia Marshall, Amy Parmenter

SOUTHERN STEEL| GS Jhaniele Fowler-Reid, GA Jamie Hume, WA Gina Crampton, C Shannon Francois, WD Wendy Frew, GD Te Huinga Selby-Rickit, GK Jane Watson

Shooting Statistics

NSWIS | 61/71 @ 85%

K.Brice: 41/47 @ 87%

S.Garbin: 15/18 @ 83%

G.Marshall: 5/6 @ 83%

 

Southern Steel |

Fowler-Reid: 68/72 @ 85%

Hume: 3/7 @ 42%

Selby-Rickit: 4/5 @ 80%

O.Bates: 2/2 @ 100%

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