Glencoe 72 d Tantanoola 45
GLENCOE claimed the bragging rights over Tantanoola in their top-four Mid South East netball clash on Saturday.
The Murphies took the first centre pass but the Tigers forced a turnover and put the first two goals on the board before the hosts could convert.
Glencoe then switched on as Donna Jaeschke took control through the midcourt and set up easy access to her goalies from the circle’s edge.
Tight defensive pressure from Chloe Pfitzner and Sarah Edwards down court created a flurry of intercepts and forced the Tiger attackers to work hard to gain any ground.
Emma Gould was the focal point of the Tigers’ attack line and her battle with Chantelle Cocks was highly contested.
The defensive pressure from the Glencoe side set it up with a nine-goal advantage heading into the first break.
Tantanoola re-jigged its attacking line in the second to try and disrupt the tone the Murphies had set in the opening quarter.
Gould came out to goal attack, which moved Jamie Walker back to goal shooter and Casey Walker took the centre bib to allow Madi Kelly to settle at wing attack.
Those changes had an immediate impact on the game and the Tigers started to find connection into the attacking circle.
Meanwhile, Glencoe’s goalie combination of Malinda Markiewicz and Jenna Paproth were forced to work harder to gain scoring opportunities as the reach of Tantanoola’s Tayla Rowe became a factor.
By half time the deficit had been reduced to seven goals.
The Tigers entered the second half with more changes as Kate Bromley and Rowe swapped defensive bibs.
However, a lifted intensity from Glencoe in a powerful “premiership” quarter denied Tantanoola a chance to pull itself back into the game.
Ashlea Edwards continued to drive strongly onto the circle’s edge and fed her goalies with precision despite the close attention from Kristy Varcoe.
The Murphies’ defensive duo of Sarah Edwards and Cocks found their feet again, shutting down any space in the Tigers goal circle.
At the other end Glencoe’s Markiewicz used her speed to find front space and finished with accuracy, netting 16 of 17 attempts for the quarter.
Varcoe went down with a serious injury towards the back end of the quarter which forced her from the court and saw youngster Ebony Cytrowski enter the game for the Tigers at wing defence.
In the end Glencoe’s commanding quarter showed on the scoreboard, with the home side scoring 21 goals to nine to set up an unassailable lead.
The Tigers swung some changes again in a last-ditch effort, but Glencoe continued to push them with their full-court defensive pressure.
A sore Gould exited the court early in the final quarter which gave another Tantanoola young-gun a chance, with Bella Poulish entering at goal shooter.
However, the four-quarter pressure and intensity from Glencoe was too much in the end and the final score settled at 72-45.
Ashlea Edwards and Donna Jaeschke were named best for the victors, while Casey Walker and Kelly were the standouts for Tantanoola.
