The North West Flames shot to the top of the log in the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League. The third round of matches were played over the weekend and the Flames had a hard-fought 44-36 win over the only other unbeaten team, the Southern Stings.
The match was fast and very physical – one of the Stings players, goal attack Nicole Taljaard, had to be stretchered off with a knee injury – but the Flames kept their cool and were always one step ahead.
The Stings started slowly, taking eight minutes before they scored their first goal. However, they made good progress after that and were only four goals behind at the end of the first quarter. At half-time, the Flames were 22-19 ahead.
Flames goal attack, Renske Stoltz, picked up her second player of the match award with a scintillating performance. Despite being one of the shortest players in the NPL, she was able to score from anywhere in the circle, appearing calm and confident as she shot from the edge of the circle.
The earlier match, between two of the lower ranked teams, the Mpumalanga Sunbirds and the Northern Cape Diamonds, turned out to be a thriller, with the Diamonds sneaking a 50-49-goal victory.
Both teams were desperate to win, after losing heavily to some of the stronger teams, and the players put everything they had into the match.
The battle between player of the match, Sunbirds goal shooter Palesa Mbukwana and Diamonds goalkeeper Christelle Ellis was a feature of the match, with neither able to dominate the other.
Results (Heartfelt Arena, Pretoria):
April 22:
Gauteng Fireballs 39 Free State Crinums 47
Eastern Cape Aloes 33 Gauteng Jaquars 61
April 23:
Mpumalanga Sunbirds 59 Kingdom Stars 29
Limpopo Baobabs 21 Free State Crinums 69
Gauteng Fireballs 59 Northern Cape Diamonds 31
April 24:
Mpumalanga Sunbirds 49 vs Northern Cape Diamonds 50
North West Flames 44 vs Southern Stings 36
*Information supplied by Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League
