Millicent 73 d Casterton Sandford 32
MILLICENT secured the premiership points as expected when it hosted Casterton Sandford for Round 7 of Western Border netball.
The Cats still suffered from a lack of scoring opportunities – courtesy to the relentless defensive pressure from the Saints – but their accuracy was much improved.
The match also saw the debut of Ivy Lane in the second half in goals and while her opportunities to score were rare, she finished with six from nine in a promising A Grade debut.
Madalene Cleary was again the mainstay of the attacking line and at goal attack she set up the play and finished accurately.
At the other end Caeleigh Humphries continues to anchor the defence and found important touches to disrupt the always slick Millicent frontline.
However, it was a tough task against Saints’ goalies Tabatha Sanderson and Demi Verbena, who shared the shooting responsibilities on the day.
Sanderson’s height often has her dominating the scoring attempts and she netted her fair share again but Verbena more shots than usual and her 25 from 30 was a high return and an accurate one.
Georgia Clarke played her first full game in the centre and influenced the match at both ends of the court.
The young back three of Portia McRae, Hannah Nitschke and Kayleigh Taylor denied the Cats time and space at every opportunity and created plenty of turnover ball.
The visitors tinkered with their mid court on the weekend as they tried to find the best roles for Tessa Marra, Ebany Jarrad and Gaby Tomkins.
They will continue to experiment with their line-up, while Millicent will look for another settled performance in preparation for a meeting with West Gambier this weekend.
