The South Coast Blaze have continued their dominant under 23s form after claiming a 61-36 victory over North Shore United on Wednesday night.
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The two NSW Premier League sides met in round 11 of the 2022 competition at Homebush.
Blaze were dominant from the end of the first quarter. The tried and tested attacking combination of Clare McCrohon, Mia Evans and Papi Alaalatoa was ably matched by newcomer Lindsay Tui. The team went into halftime with a 33-16 lead.
The increasing scoreline allowed coach Regan Tweddle to try many combinations as they build towards finals, with Blaze pushing on to record a convincing 61-36 victory.
The result means the Blaze remain on top of the under 23s conference A ladder.
Meanwhile, South Coast's opens team the Panthers on Wednesday night. The opens, sitting second in conference B, were without goal shooter Shelby Mallon, but wanted to put in a good performance against the fourth-placed Panthers.
Unfortunately for Blaze, as has happened in the past with Panthers, their defensive line shut out South Coast's attackers early, with the usual easy line to goal shooter Kristina Brice not available.
Hands up pressure and undisciplined passes saw the Opens facing a six-goal deficit at halftime. Despite good fight from the opens in the second half, Blaze went down 62-53.
Next week, South Coast's opens team play ERNA Hawks and the club's under 23s play UTS Randwick Sparks.
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