The Boroondara Express and the DC North East Blaze played out an entertaining draw as Round 12 of the Victorian Netball League commenced at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night.
With the run into the finals fast approaching, both sides played the match with a high intensity, eager to cement themselves in the top four.
Boroondara dominated the opening half, with Melbourne Vixens shooter Emma Ryde proving hard to stop in the attacking third.
The Express led by 10-goals midway through the third quarter before the Blaze mounted a comeback to trail 40-36 at the final break.
Both sides went goal-for-goal throughout the fourth quarter. The Express led by three with a minute to play and looked to have victory in the bag. However, the Blaze scored two-goals in the final 20 seconds to draw the match 49-all.
Ryde conceded it was disappointing Boroondara gave up their lead to draw the match.
“At half time we were up by quite a bit, so to let them back into the contest and to draw is disappointing, we should have won that,” Ryde said.
The Blaze prevailed in their Division One and 19/Under matches, winning 54-50 and 50-32 respectively.
The Melbourne University Lightning also returned to the championship winner’s list with an emphatic 30-goal win against the Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels.
The Lightning made it two-from-two with a second victory in Division One but it was the Ariels who came out on top in their 19/Under clash 37-33.
It was an important victory for the Ariels as it moves them to five wins for the season to stay within distance of the top four.
“It was one we had to get tonight,” Ariels 19/Under Head Coach Adrian Ballantyne said.
“There was only ever a couple of goals in it the whole way through and we just managed to pull out in the last few minutes, so it was a great effort by the girls.”
Ballantyne paid tribute to Goal Keeper Taylor Padfield, who had a superb match.
“She just kept hunting and as the ball kept coming back down at them, she kept sticking to it and got us a couple of crucial turnovers at the end so credit to the girls at the defensive end.”
In the other matches, the City West Falcons maintained their stranglehold of top spot on the Championship ladder with a 15-goal win against the Monash University Storm. The Storm bounced back to win their Division One clash before the Falcons moved to equal second with victory in their 19/Under match.
Finally, the Wilson Storage Southern Saints took on the Peninsula Waves. The Saints triumphed in Championship and 19/Under, while the Waves proved too strong in Division One.
On Sunday the ACU Sovereigns hosted the Geelong Cougars at the Lake Wendouree Sports and Events Centre.
The Cougars won all three matches with their Championship and 19/under sides having large wins, while their Division One team held off the Sovereigns to win 51-50.
Round 13 of the Victorian Netball League will commence at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on Wednesday night from 7pm AEST.
VNL ROUND 12 RESULTS
Championship
Boroondara Express 49 v 49 DC North East Blaze
Melbourne University Lightning 65 v 35 Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels
City West Falcons 65 v 50 Monash University Storm
Wilson Storage Southern Saints 60 v 41 Peninsula Waves
ACU Sovereigns 47 v 67 Geelong Cougars
Division One
Melbourne University Lightning 49 v 45 Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels
Wilson Storage Southern Saints 47 v 59 Peninsula Waves
City West Falcons 41 v 44 Monash University Storm
Boroondara Express 50 v 54 DC North East Blaze
ACU Sovereigns 50 v 51 Geelong Cougars
19/Under
City West Falcons 53 v 38 Monash University Storm
Wilson Storage Southern Saints 53 v 44 Peninsula Waves
Boroondara Express 32 v 50 DC North East Blaze
Melbourne University Lightning 33 v 37 Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels
ACU Sovereigns 48 v 64 Geelong Cougars
For the latest VNL news, results and statistics visit vnl.com.au.
