U11 Netball v Witham (H) 2pm

Venue: HOME INDOOR COURT

Coach: Mrs Felton, Mrs Cook-James

Lunch Time: 12.00pm

Start Time: 2.00pm

Approx Finish Time: 3.30pm

Alice A

Esme M (captain)

Martha B

Aurora F

Liberty D

Jasmine G

Annabel S

Notes:

Change 1.20pm. Warm up starts 1.30pm. Water bottles essential.  Tracksuits for match tea.

Report

The U11A netball team, led by Esme M, faced a strong Year 6 Witham side on Saturday afternoon.  The girls trained hard in the lead up to this match and they were looking forward to the challenge.  We knew it would be tough against Witham but the girls approached the game with great confidence. 

Esme won the toss and opted for the first centre pass.  St Hugh's started strongly with a well executed centre pass.  The first quarter was end to end and we demonstrated some super court linkage.  Witham were strong and quick to intercept but St Hugh's battled hard and won a number of turnovers. Alice found the net in the first quarter with an impressive shot.  There were other scoring opportunities for St Hugh's and although we played well in our defensive circle, Witham managed to score twice before the whistle went to end the first quarter.  2-1 to Witham.

The second quarter was more one sided with Witham dominating more and St Hugh's struggled a little to keep up with the pace of the game.  Their GS was also on fire, scoring some well executed shots from around the circle. Aurora and Liberty were certainly put to the test and they worked well together to deny the opposition space.  Liberty was fantastic at snatching the ball and releasing it quickly down court. Martha and Esme effectively created space and there were outstanding interceptions from Esme.  We did manage to work the ball into our attacking third with Annabel and Alice using quick changes of pace and direction to lose their defender and receive the pass. Unfortunately we didn't manage to score in this quarter which gave Witham a comfortable lead, with St Hugh's going into half time 8-1 down.

There were some tactical changes made at half time in an attempt to put the Witham attack under more pressure and it was a cracking performance by St Hugh's.  The play was fast paced and the girls were eager to win as many 50/50 balls as possible.  Liberty and Esme worked very well defensively and Witham's attack struggled to maintain possession at times thanks to a number of well timed interceptions. It is to their credit that we limited Witham's goals to two in this quarter. Alice read the game well and played a crucial role in the centre court, as well as in her circle.  As a result of a great team effort, both Alice and Jasmine converted, finishing this quarter at 2-2!

The final quarter was a close encounter but St Hugh's did tire and we began to lose possession for footwork and obstruction fouls. This led to a couple of penalty shots which Witham converted and we lost this quarter 3-0.  That said, St Hugh's continued to fight to the bitter end and I was so impressed by their work rate on the court. They played as a team, gave 100% and displayed good sportsmanship and etiquette during and after the match.  This game was a pleasure to umpire and the team should be proud of their efforts.