WEST GAMBIER 59 d NORTH GAMBIER 46
IT was the match of the round and North Gambier definitely came to play, shooting out of the blocks to take the opening quarter 17-12 against ladder leader West Gambier.
Mel Renko, Brianna Walters and Macey Griffith worked the angles well in attack to find shooter Grace Potts in space and the Tigers’ goaler converted 12 from 15 attempts.
However, it does not take much to spring the reigning champs into action and that opening quarter certainly did.
Defensively the Roos went back to basics and clamped down on their opponents, forcing errors from the faultless Tigers of the first quarter and reducing the amount of shots on offer.
As such West slowly but surely worked its way back into the lead.
The defensive efforts all over the court were rewarded by Sarah Ritter and Lisa McGregor who netted a perfect 18 from 18 to take a one-goal lead into the main break.
The Roos continued in the same vein in the third, again making things tough with their defensive pressure, while still managing to work the ball into their own shooting circle.
West won the third quarter 14-9 to take a six-goal lead into the final quarter and only continued to build in the fourth.
The Roos again denied North easy scoring opportunities, while Ritter and McGregor continued to find space and finish accurately.
In the end, the accuracy of West and the quantity of scoring opportunities told the story of the match and the final 59-46 scoreline.
After the dominant opening quarter from the Tigers, West kept the home side to 29 goals from 44 opportunities, while the Roos enjoyed a final three quarters which saw them convert 46 from 50.
Tara Bryant was at her hard-running best and her battle with Mel Renko was a highlight of the contest.
McGregor was also influential with her smart positioning and accurate feeding, while Jade Ritter and Amy Cram were relentless in their pressure on Potts and Macey Griffith.
Griffith did a mountain of work and continues to grow as a smart feeder into Potts, while still taking shots herself, while Renko was her side’s clear best.
Stella Mobbs took the wing defence bib for North in the absence of Lauran Norman and the Tigers would be hoping to start to settle their back-court line-up as finals approach.
