Another great day of matches from our lovely ladies.
Melbourne v Whitwick Ignite
M – The first match of the morning at Newbridge was Melbourne v Whitwick. It got off to a close start, with both teams starting well. Melbourne settled in in the second half and gelled together with good passing down the court. Great shooting and solid defence allowed them to pull ahead in the last quarter to win the match. Both teams played well and gave there all right to the end. Some great play and lovely team spirt on both sides.
WI – Fantastic game today against Melbourne – Ignite held their own until the final quarter. Well played by all today.
Gracedieu Diamonds v Coalville
A great game today against Coalville. Coalville took the initial lead, and it was very closely matched but by 3rd and 4th quarter Diamonds took the lead, securing the win. Ending 43/35
Measham Tridents v Bosworth Roses
MT – A 9am start for Tridents vs Roses at Ashby. Tridents took an early lead with some great shooting and work in centre court. Roses fought back well with a flurry of goals but Tridents managed to hold onto the lead with great interceptions and patient build up. By the final quarter both teams were tiring and some stray passes were made by both sides. Some fantastic defensive work in the D by Bosworth kept the game competitive to the end. A great game played in good spirit and enjoyed by all.
BR – Both teams started today’s game at a fast pace and continued throughout. This meant quite a few stray balls and Interceptable passes but every ball was fought for. The attacking circles were very active with lots of tussling and close play, mid court was as busy and it showcased lots of strong passing. Defenders at both ends squeezed the shooters using lots of tips and blocking, in the end Measham’s scoreline pulled away and Roses couldn’t close the gap.
Bosworth Thorns v Sence Valley
Thorns battled well but didn’t have enough against a really strong Sence Valley side. Sence had a top defence that was incredibly hard to get past & shooters at the other end who didn’t seem to miss! A good spirited friendly game and a classy victory for Sence.
Swad Swifts v Coalville Jets
Swifts started with a bang leading in the first quarter 17-6. Coalville didn’t lose their heads and Kat Wright found her stride as the game went on, earning girl of the game. However, swifts worked well all the way down the court and won three out the court quarters, ending the match 48-34. Some great work around the attacking circles from both teams, and a massive well done to Emily Brockwell who got GOG for Swifts.
Hornettes Black v Ashby Ice
A fantastic game that was really competitive between the Hornettes black and Ashby Ice! Hornettes led the first quarter by 5 goals but had Ice hot on their tails throughout! Hornettes defence was excellent with GD Steph Morton sailing through the air like a giant gazelle for regular interceptions. However the great shooting from the Ice GS in the 2nd half meant that they pipped Hornettes to the post with a score of 54-51. Hornettes POM GA Holly Hemsley.
Measham Mermaids v Gracedieu Pearls
MM – This week the Measham Mermaids found themselves up against the Grace Dieu Pearls.
The first quarter started steady, ending with a 4 goal difference to the Pearls. The second and third quarters saw the Pearls increase the gap by 21.
The Mermaids who were determined to pull it back, managed to prevent the gap from increasing in the final quarter with the overall difference being 22. The final score was 20 – 42 to the Pearls. It was enjoyable and friendly game as always! The MVPs were Angela Driver, WD – Mermaids and Alexia Gregory, GD – Pearls; which were both well deserved!
GP – Pearls met Measham Mermaids today and secured their first win which was great. Some fantastic defensive interceptions and brilliant shooting throughout. Ended 42/20
Ashby Fire v Blaby
Ashby fire went into this match against Blaby with some unfinished business having conceded the cup to them at the end of last season after a deserved win for Blaby following a stirling performance. This match was tipped to be a battle and Ashby came out with a strong starting line up with options on the bench, ready to level the playing field and wanting the full 8 points on offer.
Kelleher made no changes to the starting 7 from the previous weeks win, edging her bets that Ashbys current run of form would continue.
Garey took first centre-pass and there was calm build-up play from Ashby before Bales quickly opened the scoring with an excellent goal that didn’t touch the sides of the post as it passed perfectly through the ring.
Down the other end, the ball bounced out for the Blaby GA but Blaby managed to keep possession and GS from Blaby made it 1-1.
Blaby attack appeared to be struggling to settle and missed early opportunities with Parsons grateful to pick up the ball and hurtle it down court to the Ashby hunting attackers, ready and waiting to capitalise.
The Ashby captain set her team on the attack with E. Bales finishing the move before Kelleher added another to put Ashby quickly 4-1 up.
Manning settled early for Ashby in the WD position and displayed her class with two trademark long bombs to stretch the lead further to 8-2
With just over seven minutes remaining in Q1, Homer flew in to set Ashby on the attack and feed in three consecutive balls to extend the lead and show Ashbys first quarter dominance.
D. Bales and Parsons were applying intense defensive pressure and making GS and GA work hard for chances, which thanks to the pick off balls in the centre third were few and far between.
At 3-12, Ashby took the opportunity to widen the lead, as a couple of forced errors started to creep into play, as Blaby were then penalised for held ball and Homer quickly took the pass before the Blaby defence had the chance to reset.
It was a dramatic and absorbing end to the opening 15 minutes – an Ashby centre-pass came to Kelleher, who extended Ashbys lead yet further, followed by a Manning turnover and E. Bales penalty meant the first quarter ended at 17-4 and Ashby seemed surprised to have got out of the starting blocks so quickly.
Neither side made any changes at the start of the second quarter as the teams ran back onto court.
Good pressure from mid-courter Manning resulted in a loose Blaby ball and Ashby’s first accomplishment of the second quarter was turnover that was scored from distance by the Ashby super shooter – the match was shaping up to be another classic between the old foes and the skill on court was a pleasure to watch.
GS was on target for Blaby before GA added another to their tally, but with five minutes of the quarter remaining, Ashby once again pulled away with Blaby conceding 5 goals in the space of 2 minutes and 20 seconds.
Midway through the second 15, Garey slowed the pace and Ashby started to play a less frantic and more patient game building slowing and passing the ball in a sturdy and confidence manner.
Parsons expertly picked out Kelleher with a well-weighted ball and the latter made no mistake from close in.
However, a late turnover from Blaby reminded Ashby that with half a game to play for and points for each quarter won they couldn’t rest on their laurels as Blaby still had everything still to play for at the break.
Blaby made decisive changes at the break seeing a new centre court line up to try and break the dominance of Ashbys mid court action in Q3. Ashby left the leading side untouched and headed into the second half at a score of 34-12 in Ashbys favour.
D Bales was an imposing figure in the Ashby side, defending resolutely – and making numerous intercepts – with Parsons praying on the lose balls from the tips of her GK.
Kelleher was on top form with goal after goal but E. Bales dominated the shooting role and literally shot at a 91% accuracy rate earning her the coveted MVP title by the end of the match.
Ashby were applying strong defensive pressure on the circle edge and Blaby had to be patient in getting the ball into the circle taking their chances when the opportunity presented itself.
Inside the final minute of the third quarter, contact was called against Garey, the ball went into the GS and she pulled one back for Blaby.
But Ashby beat the buzzer with an impressive turn-and-shoot from Kelleher to finish the quarter 21-47 in front. The third quarter was Blaby best with 10 goals but at times the play seemed intense and frenetic with more errors falling to the Blaby players.
Going into the final quarter Blaby had nothing to lose and made further changes to the line up. Ashby brought on Baker in the GK position and moved the centre court around following feedback from the spectating players.
The GS from Blaby missed from close in but Ashby failed to convert the turnover and the ball was played around nicely by the Blaby centre court.
Ashby shift up to 5th gear for the final ten minutes and were consistently scoring at a rate of 2-1 to extend their lead.
As in previous games, E Bales and Kelleher combined well – the former picking out the latter under the post and Ashby pushed Blaby to more than double their score.
E Bales crowned the performance with some seriously slick skills in the closing stages as Ashby Fire secured a significant 62-30 victory and bagged themselves the whole 8 points.
This leaves Ashby ready for their next match having perfected their team line up and homed their craft, with high expectations and every point to play for in their ambitious attempt to take home another league title.