Wairarapa College needed a strong final quarter to get the better of an experienced Ōpaki Vixens and come away with a 44-42 victory, and maintain their perfect start to the Netball Wairarapa Premier One Championship.
Waicol coach Keely Riwai-Couch said it was close going into the final period, with only one or two goals separating the sides, which forced a change of tactics for the students.
“I think we might have been down going into the fourth quarter, and it was close, and it was goal for goal,” Riwai-Couch said.
“We slowed it right down, and we worked the ball a bit more before getting it in [the circle], so they probably had to play a bit more on defence, and it was more like let’s use the time as well so we managed to get up by three, and we held on.”
Riwai-Couch singled out NZ Secondary School international Sovaia Sabutu for a strong, consistent game at goalkeep and Jayla Brown for a busy 60 minutes in the midcourt. She also praised the Vixens for their strong performance.
“Full credit to Ōpaki; it was a nice, clean game, well-contested, and we just managed to get there.”
Defending champions, Celtic pulled away in the final quarter to win their clash with Jo Kelly and Co Carterton Old Girls 53–46 and retain their unbeaten record.
Gladstone Tauweru picked up their first win of the season, beating Jo Kelly and Co Carterton Maroon 28–22 in a low-scoring game to move into fourth place.
Points: Wairarapa College 12; Carterton Old Girls, Celtic 8; Gladstone Tauweru 4; Opaki Vixens 1; Carterton Maroon 0.
