Danville net victory at Fast 5’s Netball Challenge

AFTER a breathtaking ending that could have gone either way, one point was the difference between the two finalists in the Durban North Regional of the SPAR KZN Schoolgirls’ Fast 5’s Netball Challenge held at Danville Park Girls’ High School over the weekend.

Danville met local rivals Our Lady of Fatima in the regional final that kept supporters spellbound and on the edge of their seats.

After a minute of extra time, it was the green team from Danville that ended victorious at 13–12.

For the entire game, the scores seesawed up, with the scores level at both half-time and full-time.

With two early attempts, Fatima opened the scoring after 67 seconds of play, and Danville levelled 37 seconds later. With the action yo-yoing from post to post, at the midway break, both teams were sitting on five points. Danville edged the score up to five after seven minutes of play, but the bustling visitors netted two more goals in the minute leading up to the whistle, going into the break all tied.

In the second half, Fatima got out of the starting blocks first, floating in a magnificent 2-pointer. Wasting no time, Danville’s Amii Storm calmly edged her team up by a point, followed by a 2-pointer by teammate Sizolwethu Chonco. Fatima’s attack bravely tried sinking the super shots a fair distance away from the net, as the home team’s defence thwarted any advances, forcing the long-range attempts.

Both teams’ centres were superb with aerial intercepts and acrobatic slam downs, causing the exhilarating game to change direction at the jump of a midfielder. Jenna Shaw from Fatima worked hard whizzing around the court, creating some quick turn-overs and fast flat passes while Danville’s Takudzwa Chipanda was phenomenal with her explosive launches frustrating Fatima’s defence who were desperately trying to thread the ball through to their forwards.

Three 2-pointers were netted in the second half, with Fatima wizarding up one early on by Chloe Lay, followed by Danville’s Sizolwethu and then Amii hitting a game-saving shot, with a clock-winding-down last-gasp effort. At full-time, the score line was sitting on 12-all.

The conclusion of the regional final progressed to one minute of extra time. Danville worked the ball up to Amii, who gracefully slotted in a single point from under the net after 27 seconds of play.

Fatima’s response was immediate, where they swiftly sent the ball down to the other end. Fatima opted to go for a long shot, which sadly didn’t find the middle of the net, but quickly followed up with another tournament-winning bid which woefully went astray, earning the home team the title of the 2023 Durban North Region.

Crawford La Lucia met Ashton International College and finished in second and Ashton International sealed third spot.

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