Match Report by CLAIRE BUCKLEY
NST won the toss and took first centre. The first quarter was very evenly matched indeed, but Cowie made a couple of mistakes towards the end of the quarter which NST capitalised on, giving them a lead in the first quarter. Overall, both teams were fairly evenly matched, with both teams using space on court well, and settling into the match. Score at the end of the first quarter was 11 - 7 to NST.
Cowie found their stride more in the second quarter, and had a run of goals which boosted their confidence. Training sessions began to pay off well, as the team started to gel really well, and create space for themselves at both ends of the court. Communication was good, and passing confident. Score at half time was even stevens at 17 all.
The third quarter proved costly for Cowie. They found it more difficult to capitalise on their centre passes, and heads started to go down as daft mistakes were made by everyone. The ball couldn't quite make it up the court to the goal circle, whereas the NST attack seemed to have gotten well into their stride. The score at the end of the third quarter was 27 - 21 to NST.
During the final quarter, Cowie found their feet again, and seemed much more comfotable on court once again.Unfortunately NST suffered 2 injuries during this quarter - both players turned their ankles, so there were a couple of stoppages in play. Both girls were substituted off to ice their ankles. Cowie fought hard to come back from the third quarter and concentrated on trying to balance the court, and moving the ball around between the players. This paid off well, and the centres started being converted to goals once more. NST however proved too strong on the night, and the final score was 37 - 29 to NST.
Team: Sabaah Arshed, Katy Boyes, Claire Buckley (c), Vicki Corbett, Laura Cruickshank, Jenny Elrick, Kirsty Forbes, Becky Gordon, Pamela McFadden, Janet Owen.
