Mixed day for St Hilda's but coach still upbeat

Lana Morrison
Lana Morrison
St Hilda's Collegiate coach Lana Morrison is confident her side will rebound from a mixed opening day at the New Zealand secondary schools championships in Rotorua yesterday.

The South Island champion started brightly with a promising 39-27 win against Wellington's Queen Margaret College in the morning.

But the afternoon had a reality check waiting in the form of perennial powerhouse Mt Albert Grammar School.

The five-time champion seized control of the game in the second quarter, piling on seven unanswered goals to build a 20-12 halftime lead.

St Hilda's was competitive in the third period but fell behind by another four goals. With the game out of reach, Morrison made some tactical changes and Grammar was able to stretch out and eventually won 41-21.

The result means St Hilda's will need to beat Ashburton College in this morning's game to qualify in the top eight.

Ashburton also suffered a heavy defeat to Grammar but beat Queen Margaret 35-34 in a tense match.

''It is game on,'' Morrison said.

''We haven't played them. At the South Island championships they were in different cross- overs and different pools.''

Ashburton finished sixth at the South Island championships and failed to qualify for the nationals.

But it took the spot Columba College vacated when it decided against attending the tournament.

''I'm feeling good,'' Morrison said when asked about her side's prospects.

''We've had a wee squiz at other teams and you've got to think longer term - it is only day one. I'm looking for a good performance [this] morning.

''We are not hitting our straps in terms of the milestones we like to hit in games,'' she said, adding there was room for improvement but also some promising signs.

''We made a lot of errors [against Grammar] which was due to their defensive pressure.

''We didn't adjust well in the second quarter and in the last quarter I made some changes and thought, 'well, we might meet them again'.''

''It was a big call ... but it is a long week and it is only day one. People need to experience that kind of combative netball.''

In the earlier game, shooter Georgia Heffernan shook off an ankle complaint to impress with 19 goals from 23 attempts while defender Mara McCurdy was a standout on defence for St Hilda's.

 

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