The Limpopo Baobabs’ thus far positive campaign in the 2017 Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League (BFNPL) came up against a major obstacle in the form of the Free State Crinums who thrashed them 74-28 to move from eighth to fifth position of the league in Cape Town last Friday.
Proteas captain Maryka Holtzhausen showed that she was back with a vengeance when she led the Free State Crinums to the crushing victory. Holtzhausen, playing goal attack, was named Player of the Match in only her third game after an eight month layoff due to injury.
The Crinums, who had lost all their matches until Holtzhausen’s return last weekend, put on a clinical display and were 21-6 ahead after the first quarter and 36-14 at halftime. The Baobabs tried hard but the more experienced Crinums were just too good for them.
Baobabs coach, Dumisani Chauke reportedly said she was disappointed in her team. “Netball is the only game where you get an equal number of centre passes, and if you don’t score off your centre pass, you can’t win. They lost too many of their centre passes and they didn’t stick to the game plan. When they did, they were able to get the ball into the circle and score,” Chauke said.
The defeat sees the provincial team plummeting from the fifth position to seventh of the league.
Story: Herbert Rachuene
>>herbert@mailbox.co.za
