IT was a tough round for the South Coast Blaze recently, as both their sides went down in tight contests to the Manly Warringah Sapphires.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In the open's fixture, the Blaze started strongly against the Sapphires, with the attacking combination of Chaise Vassallo (WA), Katelyn Begley (C), Abbey McFadden (GA) and Kristina Brice (GS) working well together - going goal for goal.
Poor passes and missed shots started to creep into both teams' games halfway through the quarter, seeing the Sapphires managing to pull ahead 14-11 in the last couple of minutes.
In the second quarter, Shelby Mallon came on at goal-attack and Abbey McFadden moved to wing-attack.
The new combination hoped to see Blaze pick up the difference but Sapphires extended their lead by one, with the score being 27-23 at the main break.
Brittany Berry subbed in at goal-shooter, giving Kristina Brice a short rest at the start of the third quarter before she re-entered the game again in the 12th minute.
Brittany Berry then moved into goal-attack.
However, these changes didn't help the Blaze, with numerous missed goals and bad passes in the Blaze attacking end, helping the Sapphires grow their lead to 15 (51-36) by three-quarter-time.
With the Sapphires holding strong, the Blaze couldn't find the heart to lift in the final quarter and ended up going down by 18, with the final score 68-50.
In the under 23s match, the Blaze made a slow start against Manly Warringah on Wednesday.
The Blaze had the first centre-pass but multiple turnovers from each team saw the ball go back and forth on the court, with the Sapphires finally sinking the first goal two and half minutes into the game.
Numerous missed goals and errors from the Blaze throughout the remaining part of the first quarter, helped Sapphires take an early 12-6 lead.
Strong defence from Bilyana Milevski at goal-keeper, Jessica Bowden at goal-defence and Sharnee Behr at wing-defence saw the score come within two goals halfway through the second quarter.
But floating shots and passes from the Blaze in the last six minutes helped push out the Sapphires lead to nine (26-17) at half-time.
In the third quarter, the Blaze fought back with goal-shooter Ky-Mani Schwenke and goal-attack Mia Evans getting into a rhythm.
Emily Dunn moved to wing-attack halfway through the quarter to feed the circle, with captain Clare McCrohon out this game.
The dynamic combination worked strongly, with the Blaze taking the quarter 13-11, which reduced the Sapphires' advantage to only seven.
In the last quarter, the Blaze didn't give up, bringing the score within two goals with three and a half minutes on the clock.
But the Sapphires hit back, turning over a couple of Blaze centre-passes and a ball on the goal circle, to tie 15-all in the last quarter and take the win 52-45.
Despite the loss, the Blaze still sit atop of conference B, with only two losses to their names.
With only three rounds to go of the Premier Netball competition, the Blaze next face the Sutherland Stingrays, with the under 23s at 6.45pm and 8.45pm.
