Eastern Cape Aloes coach- Sameisha Esau made seven changes for this morning’s match against the Northern Cape Diamonds while the Diamonds opted to stick with the same starting seven that played all four quarters against the Tornados yesterday. Both teams had a plethora of erroneous passes that worked against them but the Aloes were able to utilize more of their turnovers effectively. The Aloes scored the least number of goals in the third quarter which might have been affected by the five changes that were made, two in the shooting circle and three in the midcourt. The fifty-one turnovers that the Aloes secured led them to a 57-42 win despite the Diamonds having a higher goal percentage of seventy-two.
The final match of the third leg of the Telkom Netball League wrapped up the weekend action with an edge of the seat performance. The Baobabs trailed by two goals in the first quarter and turned the tables around to beat the Tornados 45-43. The match went right down to the wire in the last quarter when both teams were head-to-head in the last ninety seconds. Baobabs captain and Goal Keeper- Nthabiseng Mothutsi was sent off after getting a caution and the Tornados failed to convert the turnover due to an unforced error. The Baobabs capitalized on the Tornados’ last minute mistakes and sneaked in two more goals to win the game.
‘It was a hard game honestly; it was not easy but I really believe that the girls put up a good fight in this game. It really showed how hungry they were even though we had minor mistakes here and there but they were able to come back and make sure we pull through from that. At the end of the day, it was tough’, commented Baobabs coach- Emily Mathosa.
Meanwhile, Tornados coach- Danlee Mathews says there are lots of positives to take from the match, ‘I’m really proud of the girls I must say. They started off really well but again, it’s the focus situation for me currently. We play really well for a quarter and we lose focus the next quarter but they showed resilience today. I’m proud of the way they came back from behind and levelled the score and showed composure the latter part of the game’.
Full weekends results:
Friday- 27/05/22
Queens 30-45 Sunbirds
Diamonds 30-58 Comets
Crinums 36-48 Jaguars
Saturday- 28/05/22
Flames 49-69 Stings
Aloes 46-30 Queens
Comets 39-50 Baobabs
Tornados 46-38 Diamonds
Stars 28-49 Fireballs
Sunday-29/05/22
Diamonds 57-42 Aloes
Tornados 43-45 Baobabs
