Limpopo Baobabs Coach, Dumisani Chauke is proud of her charges despite their 28-49 loss against the North West Flames in the seventh match of the 2017 Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League in Cape Town on Friday evening.
The Baobabs started the match well and kept pace with the Flames for the first three quarters and it was only the Flames’ superior fitness and experience that pulled them through to victory.
The first quarter saw both teams displaying a solid start and great defensive strategies, ending with a 12-7 lead for the Flames. The turning point in the game came in the third quarter, when the Flames introduced Marike Maree and Melandi Pretorius in the circle. The duo managed to score 16 goals to give the Flames a 38-22 lead.
“I am immensely proud of the girls. It was good to see them fight right to the end. In the same game last year we lost 79-28 so this has been a great improvement by the squad. I didn’t make any changes because I thought they all deserved to stay on the court,” Chauke reportedly commented after the match.
Flames coach Dorette Badenhorst is reported to have said that although the match was not the greatest display for her team it gave her the opportunity to try out various new combinations and afford all players game time. “A few players are still struggling to get into game form, but I was pleasantly surprised by some of the new combinations that I tried. The team battled to keep position and made elementary mistakes,” she stated.
On Saturday the Baobabs suffered another huge defeat at the hands of strong title contenders Southern Stings who beat them 60-36 at the same venue.
The Baobabs were the first to score, and were three-up before the Stings scored their first goal. For most of the first quarter, they surprised the Western Cape team, and were only two goals behind at the end of the quarter.
The Stings pulled away from the Baobabs in the second quarter, and by halftime were 32-16 ahead, having allowed the Baobabs to score just six goals. In the third quarter, they scored 15 goals to 7 for the Limpopo side. The Baobabs fared better in the final quarter, with both teams scoring 13 goals each.
Baobabs goal-shooter, Grace Lechaba, was solid under the post, and the team worked hard to get the ball to her, knowing she would almost always score.
Chauke reportedly said she was pleased with the way her team had fought to the end. “I was very pleased with Lechaba, who was shooting very well today, making every ball count.”
Story: Herbert Rachuene
>>herbert@mailbox.co.za
