Port MacDonnell 47 d Kongorong 32
PORT MacDonnell chalked up its first win of the Mid South East netball season with a 15-goal victory over Kongorong on Saturday.
The Demons applied defensive pressure early, led by Alana Berkefeld in goal defence as they forced a break in the Hawks’ first centre pass.
Berkefeld combined with Alysha Coon and they worked hard over the shot and drove the ball down the court from the back line to transition to their tall shooting circle of Megan Hein and Kori Collins.
Both side’s shooters took their time to settle, with plenty of rebounding opportunity which Berkefeld and Coon, as well as the Hawks Riley Buckingham and Emily Lightbody, all capitalised on for their respective teams.
The Demons took a two-goal lead heading into the first break.
The second quarter saw the defensive pressure from both sides continue.
The Demons made some positional changes through their mid-court while the Hawks remained unchanged.
Hawks’ Rach Perry and Demons’ Liza Mutch, battled hard through the middle.
The Hawks brought the margin back to just one goal at half time.
Kongorong remained unchanged heading into the second half, while the Demons once again made changes in their mid-court, this time bringing on the fresh legs of Shannon Scheidl to centre.
This change appeared to be the edge the Demons needed to push the game out from under the Hawks, with Kongorong losing possession quickly through the mid-court and giving the Demons a lot of ball in the third term.
Coon and Berkefeld capitalised on the pressure and were rewarded in the circle.
The Demons outscored the Hawks 15-6 in the quarter to lead by 10 at the last break.
Both teams continued to fight hard defensively in the final term as the wet conditions hit.
However, Port MacDonnell again got a good look at the ball with their defensive pressure all down the court, which produced multiple turnovers converted by Hein and Collins to seal the win.
Best players for the victors were Coon and Michelle Moore, with Perry and Lightbody best for Kongorong.
