TANTANOOLA 68 D KONGORONG 31
TANTANOOLA was far too strong for the young Kongorong outfit in Round 18 of Mid South East netball on Saturday.
Kongorong won the toss and took the first centre pass, then scored through Tilah Buckingham.
Tantanoola responded through Keryl Ousey, who found her range early.
Unforced errors from the home side allowed Kongorong to gain possession, but pressure from Tantanoola’s goal keeper Tayla Rowe kept her side with ball in hand, taking some crucial intercepts for her side and keeping her player to just two goals for the quarter.
Kongorong’s Riley Buckingham and Emily Lightbody worked hard despite the height mis-match of Tantanoola’s goalie combination of Ousey and Emma Gould, who were able to rebound strong under the ring.
The Tiger’s went into the first break with a seven-goal advantage.
Kongorong’s defensive duo of Buckingham and Lightbody stepped up their pressure in the second quarter, causing turnovers for their side and were able to convert through Tilah Buckingham, who shot eight goals for the quarter.
However, Tantanoola’s Casey Walker increased her work rate on the wing, intercepting any ball that went into the pocket and was a target when driving the ball out of defence.
Half time saw a lot of changes made to the Tantanoola line up, with Ousey moving to goal keeper, Rowe to goal defence, Kate Bromley to wing defence, Casey Walker to wing attack, Jami Walker to goal attack and Gould to goal shooter.
It did not take long for Walker to find her range in the goal circle, shooting at 100 percent for the quarter.
Rachel Perry stepped up for the Hawks, passing accurately to Sealey and Buckingham.
Tantanoola settled into the new positions, using the ball effectively across the court to extend the lead to 46-27 at the break.
Going into the final term both sides remained unchanged.
The home side were much more methodical in their approach, with the pressure of the Tigers creeping in on the Hawks.
The Kongorong defence battled hard in the final quarter, but increased errors crept into the game.
The height advantage from Ousey and Rowe in the defensive end caused havoc for the Hawk’s shooters, with shots being deflected and Tantanoola capitalized off every opportunity, with precise delivery into Gould from Kate Varcoe and Casey Walker.
Gould had the upper hand in the final term, shooting 15 from 17 to finish the game with a win.
Best players for Tantanoola were Rowe and Gould, with Riley Buckingham and Lightbody best for Kongorong.
