NORTH GAMBIER 59 d SOUTH GAMBIER 40
NORTH Gambier backed up its two victories over fellow top-three contenders West Gambier and Millicent with a strong victory over South Gambier on Saturday.
Despite the result, the Demons certainly put in a more competitive performance and at the final whistle it was a 19-point win to the Tigers.
North so often jumps teams at the start and that was how the weekend’s clash panned out.
In blustery conditions, North still moved the ball with speed and precision and goalers Macey Griffith and Kelly Lockwood rewarded their teammates.
They converted 18 goals from 20 attempts, with both players only missing one each in the less-than-ideal shooting conditions.
South has so often fallen away after poor starts this season, but on Saturday the Demons regrouped to lose the quarter by only one goal.
The frontline for South started to connect more efficiently and Ash Widdison proved a strong target while Gracie Dalton made the most of her opportunities, netting six from seven as the Demons steadied the ship.
Unfortunately the third quarter was more one-way traffic with North not only generating significantly more scoring shots but also finishing with impressive accuracy.
The hard running of Kaitlin Egan and Brianna Walters started to become a factor as they connected time and time again with Griffith and Lockwood replicating their first quarter effort, scoring 18 from 20 as the lead blew out to 19.
That would be the final margin as South again rallied to enjoy a 12-all quarter to finish the contest.
Ellie Bouchier, who was again South’s best, moved back to goal keeper in the final quarter.
She limited the output of Lockwood, who had dominated the opening three quarters, while Widdison had a perfect shooting performance and Dalton found more ball.
The Tigers not only took the four points but also welcomed the return of Lauran Norman, who took the wing defence bib in the second half, as she works her way back from a serious hand injury that had her sidelined for weeks.
