Khomotso Mamburu of Mangaung Metro (Right) and Bibalwa Sizani of Gauteng West compete for the ball during day 2 of the Spar National Netball Championships at Bellville Velodrome on August 12, 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa.(Photo by Reg Caldecott/Gallo Images)
Earlier in the day, Gauteng North showed they were the team to watch this year when they beat Nelson Mandela Bay 71-31.
During the match against Gauteng West, coach Jenny van Dyk had fun mixing and matching her players in different combinations.
With an insurmountable lead, she experimented, playing goal defence Amanda Strydom at centre and Erin Burger at goal attack, until Burger sustained an ankle injury and was replaced by fellow Protea Melissa Myburgh.
“It is important to mix things up from time to time,” said Van Dyk. “The players need to be able to think on their feet and make decisions.”
On the other hand, defending champions Mangaung Metro had a bad day at the office. They had to come from behind to beat Gauteng West 65-44, after trailing 26-27 at halftime, and then lost 37-42 to Boland in their later match.
“We made some silly mistakes and lost too many balls,” said Mangaung captain Lauren-Lee Christians.
“But we have many more games to play and one loss doesn’t mean the end.”
Boland captain Leanie Kleynhans-Cornelissen said their victory was the result of hard work.
“We have been building our squad for a number of years, and we are now reaping the benefits. We knew we would have to work hard and that the team that worked hardest would win,” she said.
Earlier in the day, Boland beat Buffalo City 54-41.
Dr Kenneth Kaunda (North West South) also had a good day, beating Umgungundlovu 56-35 in the morning and then beating Nelson Mandela Bay 43-28.
In their earlier match, they kept the pressure up throughout, increasing their lead in every quarter. They outscored Umgungundlovu by 18 goals to six in the third quarter and by 14 goals to nine in the final quarter.
Against the Eastern Cape team, Boland took an early lead and were 21-13 ahead at halftime. They forged ahead in the third quarter, with 16 goals to five. However, Nelson Mandela Bay came back strongly in the last 15 minutes, scoring 10 goals to Boland’s six.
Coach Dorette Badenhorst said while she was happy with the results, she knew that there was still a lot of work to do.
In the other match on Tuesday, Western Province beat Frances Baard (Griqualand West) 53-27.
– Sapa
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