The Peninsula Waves have kept their championship finals hopes alive with a come-from-behind win against the Geelong Cougars in Round Eight of the Victorian Netball League on Wednesday night.
In one of the games of the season so far, the teams went goal-for-goal throughout the match, with the game being played at a frenetic pace.
The Cougars jumped out to a two-goal lead midway through the last quarter before the Waves stole the momentum to run out 49-47 victors.
Mid-courter Holly Hood was pleased with the win.
“We are pretty happy as we have had a few losses over the last few weeks and Geelong are always tough competition for us,” Hood said.
The Cougars triumphed in both their division one and 19/under clashes.
After consecutive championship defeats, the Boroondara Express returned to the winner’s list on Wednesday night with a 64-51 victory against the Monash University Storm.
Star goaler Ashlee Howard acknowledged that it was an important victory.
“We really needed this win to stay in the top half of the ladder and it was great to get it,” Howard said.
The Melbourne University Lightning maintained their position on top of the VNL Championship ladder with a 52-40 victory against the ACU Sovereigns.
The final score-line did not reflect the closeness of the contest, with the much-improved Sovereigns really taking it to one of this year’s premiership favourites.
It was a good night for the Lightning, with their division one and 19/under teams also producing wins.
The DC North East Blaze also completed a clean sweep of their matches against the Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels.
Their commanding 56-31 championship victory was particularly important as it gave them a percentage boost and moved them within touch of the top four.
Finally, the City West Falcons have continued their championship winning streak with a 61-50 victory against the Wilson Storage Southern Saints.
The Saints did, however, claim an important 47-44 win in division one which moves them to equal points with the Falcons on top of the ladder.
The two teams also produced a tight contest in their 19/under fixture with the Falcons prevailing by three goals.
Round Nine of the Victorian Netball League will commence on Friday 3 June when the Geelong Cougars host the City West Falcons at Christian College.
ROUND EIGHT RESULTS
Championship
Monash University Storm 51 v 64 Boroondara Express
Wilson Storage Southern Saints 50 v 61 City West Falcons
Geelong Cougars 47 v 49 Peninsula Waves
ACU Sovereigns 40 v 52 Melbourne University Lightning
Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels 35 v 56 DC North East Blaze
Division One
Geelong Cougars 50 v 43 Peninsula Waves
ACU Sovereigns 38 v 53 Melbourne University Lightning
Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels 40 v 46 DC North East Blaze
Monash University Storm 39 v 45 Boroondara Express
Wilson Storage Southern Saints 47 v 44 City West Falcons
19/Under
ACU Sovereigns 47 v 48 Melbourne University Lightning
Yarra Valley Grammar Ariels 36 v 51 DC North East Blaze
Monash University Storm 44 v 34 Boroondara Express
Wilson Storage Southern Saints 46 v 49 City West Falcons
Geelong Cougars 50 v 32 Peninsula Waves
Find the latest VNL news, results and statistics at vnl.com.au.
