Terri-fic
Story by Nathanael Saunders (Sports Reporting Team)
13 March 2008
Terri Jones was the star last week in a crucial game for the girl’s Netball second at home to Headingham, which had massive implications on their final league position. With the Girls High already securing top spot, this match would determine the runners up. And it was the composure of Jones throughout the game that led to her being nominated as player of the match in one of the best games this side had played in. The College would rise to the occasion brilliantly and see off the opposition 42-12, with their best performance of the year coming at one of the most important stages of the season.
The College, buoyed by the prospect of a runner up spot, started the game brilliantly and were quick to establish a firm lead early on. Headingham adopted a physical approach in the college’s shooting circle, giving away invaluable penalty shots- which Meghan Nice and Clare Rowland both showed great composure in scoring. The College were certainly having the better time scoring, as their defence did a fantastic job of limiting Headingham’s opportunities. Three players really stood out for their defensive work, Chloe Bayles making several interceptions at wing defence, and Toria Siddle and Jackie Partridge shut out two of the visitor’s best players. At the end of the first quarter, the College led 13-4- but were warned of complacency that had cost them a defeat over Havering from a similar lead earlier in the season.
"their best performance
of the year"
Perhaps spurred on by this warning and building on their brilliant first quarter display the College shut Headingham out of the game completely, not allowing their opponents a single point as they gave their opponents a lesson in a brilliant all round display which they had no answer to. Siddle and Partridge continued their defensive effort, and complimented by Sophie Lee and the three worked brilliantly together as a unit. The fact that Headingham failed to score was a credit to these three who did not put a foot wrong all quarter. At the other end Jones led the attack with a typical captain’s display, feeding well into the circle and constantly spurring her players on. Nice continued a solid shooting game as the College put fourteen unanswered points past their opponents, coming in at half time with a massive 27-4 lead.
Second position was within touching distance, and changes were made to the side to give every player an equal opportunity to play. Notable changes were Jenny Lau coming on at goal shooter and Becky Butler being brought on at goal attack. This quarter was a complete contrast to the one played beforehand, it was sloppy and many passes went astray, which was most likely down to all the changes that had been made at half time, making the team temporarily disjointed and error prone. That said, the defence was called on to work harder as a result, with Partridge and Bayles playing brilliantly together. Chloe Bunce was solid at centre, calming the team down as they drew the quarter 5-5, leading overall 32-9. Despite a sloppy quarter Butler and Lau also had a good game, and the College were perhaps lucky Headingham did not capitalise on the changes made by scoring more goals.
There were more changes made to the team for the final quarter, with Nice returning to goal attack, Butler to the wing and Jones to the centre. With a target of fifty set by the coaches, or eighteen for the quarter, the college stormed back into play. Jones showed great versatility in the way she adapted to centre, boosting her claim for the player of the match award. One of the regular features of the game was the partnership between Bayles, Siddle and Partridge who once again had a fantastic display at the back as they limited Headingham to only three points.
Despite not making their final total of fifty points, the College triumphed with a well deserved 42-12 victory which was later called one of their best performances as a team together this year. This was capped by Captain Jones, who led from the front and epitomised the way the college approached this game with her composed style throughout grabbing the attention of the Headingham team, who voted her as player of the match. Complimented by a brilliant defensive partnership of Bayles and Partridge and an influential game in the circle from Nice, this was the perfect display from the college at the perfect time.