The Victorian Netball League received a boost this week, with a few Suncorp Super Netball shooters coming into teams for Round 9.
Jane Cook (Adelaide Thunderbirds), Mikaela Vaughan (NSW Swifts) and Alice Teague-Neeld (Magpies Netball) were injected into Championship Division sides as part of Wednesday night’s competition.
Championship
Jane Cook was instrumental in securing the City West Falcon’s 37-goal win over the Ariels.
Shooting at 90% accuracy for the match, Cook scored more goals individually than the Ariels team – shooting 56 of the Falcon’s 72 goals, while the Ariels scored 35 goals for the match.
Melbourne University Lightning’s, Mikaela Vaughan also played a key role in her team’s victory, shooting 36 goals against the Monash Storm.
The Lightning were 23-goal winners over the Storm, 67-44.
The DC North East Blaze inflicted Geelong Cougar’s third loss of the season, defeating them by 10-goals, 58-48.
Blaze’s Elizabeth Nicol, was another shooter to have a standout game, scoring 45 goals for the match, and missing just two shots.
Despite the loss, Geelong were bolstered by the injection of Alice Teague-Neeld, who took the court for a half, pairing up with Goal Shooter, Kate Thompson.
Division One
Division One saw the first draw of the season, with the ACU Sovereigns and Boroondara Express deadlocked at 51 goals each.
The match was close throughout, with the scores tied at quarter-time and half-time.
At three-quarter-time Boroondara held a narrow one-goal lead, 40-39, however they were unable to maintain this.
The Blaze lost their first match for the season, with the Geelong Cougars too strong in attack.
The Cougars set the pace of the match, leading by four goals at the first break.
Shooters Hannah Van Gemst and Zanna Woods combined brilliantly for Geelong, shooting 39 and 24 goals respectively, and Rebecca Colwell was outstanding for the Blaze, shooting 42 goals from 43 attempts.
19/U
It was a tight defensive game between the Storm and the Lightning in the 19/U Division, with the Lightning defeating the Storm 40-36.
With high defensive intensity from both teams, it was a close match from the start.
The Storm led at the first break 13-9, however a strong defensive quarter from the Lightning in the second term restricted their opportunity to extend their lead. Still it wasn’t enough, and Storm claimed the victory.
There is a short-turnaround between Rounds 9 and 10, with Round 10 beginning on Friday.
Round 10 is headlined by the game between Monash University Storm and Peninsula Waves, which will be played in Traralgon on Saturday night.
