Senior Girls Netball State Final effort
07/09/2022SCHOOL SPORT VICTORIA – STATE FINALS
Senior Girls
With an early start, we were off again to Waverly netball centre to contest in the finals of the School Sports Victoria State Championships. With longer matches than the Victorian Schools competition (4 x 7min quarters) the girls were able to set up more opportunities to settle into the game and develop a real flow down the court.
Starting the first games of the qualifiers against Rowville Secondary College was always going to be tough, and they came out firing. Our girls worked hard to stay in the game all the way, until the last part of the final quarter. With plenty of leads and lots of pressure all over the court, a few errors crept in at critical stages and Rowville capitalised on these and were unforgiving in their all-out attack. The girls eventually went down by eight goals, 22-14.
Game 2 was against Notre Dame Shepparton, who showed great fight and had plenty of spirit. Our girls were able to get the early jump and were able to maintain this lead for the match however it was not without its challenges. The defensive pressure was tough, and our attackers had to work really hard for every possession, as there were no easy games at this level. With great teamwork and persistence, the girls not only won the game but were able to play some settled, comfortable netball. Final score, 18-14.
The final match to qualify for the finals was against our regular opposition, Maribyrnong College. Always a tough game, Maribyrnong got the jump and our girls seemed to be tiring. A halftime chat and reminder that, while we were 4 goals down that was only 2 turnovers, seemed to hit home. With exceptional play by all on the court, the girls dug deep and found a way to claw themselves back into the game. With 2 minutes left the girls were now in front, but Maribyrnong were surging, and a well-deserved win was looking precarious. The girls then slipped into a game style of “keepings off” for the final 20 seconds and executed it perfectly to come away with a brilliant one-goal win, 17-16.
This win catapulted the girls into the semi-finals, and in a short turnaround of 20 minutes, the girls found themselves playing against the top team from Pool B – Mercy Regional College Camperdown. In a hard-fought match, the girls took the lead initially, but then Mercy clawed their way back into the game, eventually running over the top of a determined, but tired CMC team, with the final score being 21-28.
These girls are a lovely and very capable group of girls who should be rightly proud of the quality of netball they have played, the teams they have been so competitive against and the fun they have had. Each player has moved into whatever position they were given with a smile on their face and given 110% each time. Each player has earnt their position on the court and while they were there, showed why they deserved the opportunity to wear the school colours in such a quality team. Throughout all the competitions the players have had various levels of court time and showed their worth repeatedly, each of them should be very proud of what we have achieved.
Thanks to the parents who supported the girls by coming along or via text messages and also to club coaches who have developed lovely players for me to blend together. Thanks also to Maree Pearce for her coordination and commitment to sport at Catherine McAuley College, your efforts don’t go unnoticed. I look forward to catching up with players and parents at the Tim Ledwidge Memorial vote count evening in Term 4, keep an eye out for confirmation of dates and time.
Mrs Kris Rosaia
Back L-R: Mrs Kris Rosaia (coach), Ava Hamilton, Siarne Cass, Charlotte Sexton, Katie Dean, Maggie Burke, Amaya Schmidt
Front L-R: Sophie Giles, Maggie Keating, Hannah Tyndall, Tahlia Isaac, Bryde O’Rourke