NZ Age Groups Results - Thurs 17

Minogue Park, Hamilton

Please be aware that all results are posted on www.netballnz.co.nz after every round.

MATCHES OF THE DAY – THURSDAY 17 JULY 2008
U19 1st Grade Division

Waikato Red 30 v Manawatu 29

With both teams vying for a place in the top four in the U19 1st Grade division, this was bound to be a closely fought match.

Therefore it was a surprise to see Waikato Red dominate in the opening minutes of the first quarter with great pressure around the Manawatu shooting circle from Waikato’s Centre and captain, Larissa Thomas and Wing Defence Elizabeth van der Poel. This enabled Goal Defence Rachael Fabling to steal some beautiful clean intercepts.

It took some time for Manawatu to warm up but their defence led by example with Goal Keeper, Laura Harrison and Goal Defence, Charmaine Smith restricting Waikato’s flow into Goal Shooter Kahlia Coffin. Waikato led going into the first quarter 9-4

The second quarter was all Waikato Red, as they cleared space for clean straight drives and maneuvered around Manawatu’s tight man on man defence. The gap began to widen as Wing Attack Caitlin Easter began to perfect her high pass into Coffin.

Waikato were up 18-8 going into half time and Manawatu made changes to put more pressure on the Waikato attack. Whitney Cassidy moved into Goal Defence with Harrison while Lauretta Cribb came on at Wing Defence.

The change down the defensive end stilted the new Waikato shooting line up of Jess Grinlinton and Vanessa Chatfield and Manawatu began to edge their way closer to Waikato. Waikato struggled to get their centre pass away but were still leading 26-19 going into the final stanza.

The last quarter became an absolute spectacle and a great display of mental toughness as Manawatu overcame the odds and got to within one goal of Waikato Red. Manawatu’s Goal Shooter, Te Paea Selby-Rickit had an extremely skillful hold on the shooting baseline and with ace passer, Wing Attack Abby Hull, made a formidable combination.

Sadly for Manawatu their resurgence came too late and Waikato took the game 30-29.

Shooting statistics:

Waikato Red:

Kahlia Coffin: 10/16 63%
Jess Grinlinton: 19/22 86%
Vanessa Chatfield: 1/1 100%

Manawatu:

Te Paea Selby-Rickit: 24/34 71%
Kirsten Craig: 5/6 83%

UNDER 19 SEMI FINAL 1:

Auckland Waitakere 33, North Maroon 29

More consistent defensive pressure and a livelier attack delivered a 33-29 win for Auckland Waitakere in their entertaining Under-19 semi-final match against North Maroon.

The score opened slowly, thanks to strong defence and shaky shooting by both teams, and they level-pegged for much of the first quarter. The first break came when Auckland Waitakere began to penetrate North’s defence with snappy passing, and they led 8-6 at the first interval.

Auckland Waitakere stepped up another gear in the second and third quarters with Armel Chou-Lee and Leigh-Moana Manihera especially effective on defence, and Kelly Griffin and Kate Shearer linking sweetly with their shooters Chanel Jacobs and Lavinia Vaitohi. North had more trouble finding the circle, but Courtney Mita’s accuracy helped to keep them in the match, though down 20-26 at three-quarter time.

Auckland Waitakere continued to contest every ball on defence, regularly breaking North’s flow, but errors appeared in both teams’ play during the final quarter. North Wing Attack Maryke Penman fed her shooters well, and Goal Attack Kirsten Montgomery opened up useful space along the baseline. However, it was not enough to close the gap and Auckland Waitakere won the match by four goals.

Shooting statistics:

Auckland Waitakere
Chanel Jacobs: 15/18 83%
Lavinia Vaitohi: 17/24 71%
Tuialofa Patolo: 1/1 100%

North Maroon

Courtney Mita: 19/24 79%
Rose Twaddle: 8/10 80%
Kirsten Montgomery: 2/4 50%

UNDER 19 SEMI-FINAL 2:

Christchurch 32, Waikato Red 26

Anchored at either end by powerful defenders and mobile shooters, Christchurch made the most of their better possession to defeat Waikato Red 32-26 in a hard-fought U19 semi-final.

Christchurch took the early lead, but Waikato responded well to be only one goal down, 7-8, after the first quarter.

Christchurch extended their lead to 18-11 by half-time, as shooters Sophia Fenwick and Brooke Thompson made good use of brisk service from their mid-courters Hannah Poff and Lara Tipene.

The southern side’s shooting power began to falter in the third quarter, under pressure from Waikato defenders Rachael Fabling and Katherine Coffin, and the scoreline narrowed slightly, 25-20 at the three-quarter mark.

Christchurch steadied in the final term and once again pushed out their lead to seal the match 32-26.

Shooting Statistics

Christchurch
Sophia Fenwick: 24/36 67%
Brooke Thompson: 8/12 67%

Waikato Red
Kahlia Coffin: 14/17 82%
Jess Grinlinton: 12/14 86%

U21 Division

UNDER 21 SEMI-FINAL 1:

Wellington 33 v Canterbury 29

The first of the two U21 semi-finals was an absolute thriller with Wellington and Canterbury going head to head to decide who would be the first team to secure a place in the Grand Final held tomorrow at 2pm.

The future of Wellington netball looks bright as this Wellington U21 side showed they have what it takes to make a Grand Final.

Going into this game it seemed as though Canterbury had the edge as they did not drop a game in their round robin whereas Wellington had lost one. Also in their favour were Charlotte Kight and Ellen Halpenny, members of the Canterbury SKOPE Tactix Franchise team, and Erin McDuff, once a player for the Canterbury Flames.

For the entire first half neither team could get a significant lead and strong attack lines from both teams meant they easily found their Goal Shooters, Te Amo Amaru-Tibble from Wellington and Ellen Halpenny from Canterbury.

Going into the second quarter Wellington took a quick four goal lead, largely thanks to Goal Keeper Stephanie Simmons who used her great elevation to advantage against Canterbury Goal Shooter, Ellen Halpenny.

A tactical time out called by Canterbury Goal Defence Charlotte Kight enabled Canterbury to regain their composure, and allowed Halpenny and Goal Attack Kiley Hikawai to sort out their shooting combination. With some great feeding work by Hikawa,i Canterbury began to claw their way back and took the lead 18-17 going into half time.

The third quarter of the game began to get physical as players put their bodies on the line to gain the upper hand going into the final quarter. With U21 selectors on the sideline all players were doing everything they could to impress. Canterbury got the upper hand and led 27-24 going into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter was a display of fantastic athletic ability with the biggest contest going on between Wellington Wing Attack, Lisa Scott and Canterbury Wing Defence, Emily Chamerlain. Both players were doing all they could to get their team back on top.

Wellington capitalised on Canterbury’s last minute handling errors and went away with a memorable 33-29 win.

Shooting statistics:

Wellington:

Te Amo Amaru-Tibble: 25/31 81%
Jaimee Sorenson: 8/12 67%

Canterbury:

Ellen Halpenny: 20/26 77%
Erin McDuff: 7/12 58%
Kiley Hikawai 2/4 50%

UNDER 21 SEMI-FINAL 2:

Otago 29 v Southland 27

It was a classic battle of the South as Otago and Southland went head to head in a bid to claim a place against Wellington in tomorrow’s U21 Grand Final.

Both teams had promising line-ups. Southland had one of the top junior performers in the ANZ Champsionship, Julianna Naoupu starting at Goal Attack with Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit at Goal Defence.

Otago had tall speedster Jess Tuki at Goal Attack and she proved to be a significant asset, feeding effectively to Goal Shooter, Greir Campbell and driving along the baseline to receive the ball from midcourters, Emily Close, Brigitte Hollander and Claire Kersten.

The first quarter saw Southland take an early lead as Otago failed to slot the important opening goals. Selby-Rickit at Goal Defence capitalised on all rebounds and gave her team the confidence to create scoring opportunities within their shooting circle. Southland led 10-4 going into the quarter time break.

Otago must have had a rev up at half time from coach, Helen Bryant as they came out all guns blazing in the second quarter. Goal Keeper Jess Moulds began to work hard on Southland Goal Shooter Mishani Areaiiti and created valuable turnovers to bring her side alongside Southland going into half time. In a complete scoring reversal the second quarter score was 10-4 to Otago, making the half time score 14-14.

It took a couple of minutes in the third quarter for either team to score a goal, but it was Southland who took the first and it was then goal for goal until the break.

From 19-all all at the third quarter break, Otago had a sudden surge of confidence and scored five goals on the trot. This left Southland in a state of desperation as they tried to bridge the gap that Otago had created.

Southland brought it back to within two goals, however there was not enough time on the clock and Otago came away with a 29-27 win and a place in the Grand Final.

Southland:

Mishani Areaiiti: 10/18 56%
Julianna Naoupu: 17/26 65%

Otago:

Greir Campbell: 19/27 70%
Jess Tuki: 10/14 71%

Day Four – Thursday 17 July 2008
NZAGC Draw & Results

9.00am Round
U19 Grade
Waikato Red 30 Manawatu 29
North Maroon 40 Counties Manukau 12
Auckland Waitakere 39 South Canterbury 32
Christchurch 58 Tasman 19

10.10am Round
U21 Grade
Auckland Waitakere 41 Counties Manukau 27

U19 Grade
Eastern 38 North Blue 16
Otago 37 Auckland Centre 22
Bay of Plenty 35 Waikato Black 34
Taranaki 22 Wellington 23

11.20am Round
U21 Grade
Waikato 29 North 30
Bay of Plenty 24 Western 36

1.10pm Round
U21 Grade
Canterbury 29 Wellington 33

U19 Grade
Auckland Waitakere 33 North Maroon 29
Manawatu 40 Counties Manukau 30

2.20pm Round
U21 Grade
Southland 27 Otago 29

U19 Grade
Christchurch 32 Waikato Red 26
Tasman 42 South Canterbury 43
Otago 28 Taranaki 23
Auckland Centre 40 North Blue 25

3.30pm Round
U21 Grade
Bay of Plenty 25 North 33
Waikato 46 Counties Manukau 20
Auckland Waitakere 35 Western 28

U19 Grade
Wellington 28 Waikato Black 29
Eastern 38 Bay of Plenty 25

ENDS

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