Record win for semi-finals-bound NZ netballers in Glasgow
New Zealand made it five straight wins after wrapping up a clean sweep of Pool B with a comprehensive 83-23 win over Trinidad & Tobago to advance to the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games netball tournament in Glasgow.
New Zealand were left waiting until the last pool match of the tournament (overnight) between England and South Africa to decide who their opponents would be for Saturday’s (midnight, NZT) second semi-final.
The New Zealanders were reduced to 10 players for their final pool match with talented young defender Catherine Hall awaiting a MRI scan to determine the extent of a knee injury suffered in the previous match against Wales.
Shooter Georgia Heffernan was also left off the team sheet after suffering an ankle knock in the same match with the New Zealand management confident she would recover in time for the semi-finals.
The 10 available players were rotated throughout the match as New Zealand went on to post their highest score and biggest winning margin in 24 outings against Trinidad & Tobago, to put a spring in their step heading into the semi-finals.
“There were little finer details that we wanted to really tidy up on and I thought we did that really well today,’’ New Zealand vice-captain Kate Heffernan said. “We set ourselves little challenges at each quarter and I thought we did really well to meet them.
“In the last few games we’ve dropped off in a couple of quarters and we just need to really find that consistency leading into the semi-finals, so that was a real goal today.
“We’ll now just have a look at all the little things that we know we can work on and then take a big step up for finals. We’re looking forward to the challenge.’’
Yet to win a game, the 12th-ranked Trinidad & Tobago were firmly on the back foot from the outset against the world No 2 New Zealanders. The tallest team in the tournament, the height and athleticism of New Zealand caused problems across the court for the Caribbean side.
The youthful shooting pair of Amelia Walmsley (goal shoot) and Martina Salmon seamlessly converted the flurry of ball provided from the opening whistle to set the tone while the rangy defensive figures of Carys Stythe (goal defence) and Kelly Jackson, reeled in a clutch of intercept opportunities.
Trinidad & Tobago were kept scoreless for the opening eight minutes as New Zealand kept their opponents stranded in the midcourt to effectively deny them any forward or scoring momentum.
In the driver’s seat, New Zealand took a commanding 21-4 lead into the first break.
With just the one change on the resumption where Heffernan took over from Maddy Gordon at centre, and statical targets being front and centre, New Zealand carried on in similar fashion but faced a little more resistance from Trinidad and Tobago.
However, Trinidad & Tobago faced an immense task and couldn’t compete with the sheer volume of ball the New Zealanders enjoyed. With Walmsley slotting 26 from 29 and Salmon 15 from 16, coupled with Stythe and Jackson picking up four intercepts apiece, and the midcourt running rampant, New Zealand swept to a handsome 41-13 lead at the main break.
After being rested the previous game, key shooter Grace Nweke was introduced for the third stanza while captain Karin Burger also made her first entrance to the game at goal defence.
Getting through-court with consummate ease, New Zealand piled on the pressure to deliver a productive and enterprising third term. Nweke (19 from 21) made her presence felt as the women in black showed greater scoring efficiency while restricting Trinidad & Tobago to just five goals while marching to a 64-18 lead at the last turn.
They kept the heat on during the final term, Jackson, who played a full game, contributing seven individual intercepts to the team total of 20 while the three shooters had a combined 92 percent success rate under the hoop.