In an extremely exciting come-from-behind effort, the Divas claimed a Cobar Netball Association A Grade grand final berth after their one goal win over Pumpettes on Saturday.
The Divas and Pumpettes were evenly matched for most of their major semi final game before the Pumpettes pulled away in the third quarter to take a seven goal lead.
Divas however very determinedly clawed their way back into the match with Lisa Travis spurring her side on to the one goal win.
Both teams, which have been neck and neck all season, were down a shooter each going into Saturday’s major semi final which kept things on an even keel and made for an exciting match.
Shooting at a high percentage, Travis playing at Goal Attack and fellow Goal Shooter Janette Booth helped to steer the Divas to a win.
Pumpettes’ defence was outstanding with Leah Le Lievre and Marnie Whytcross linking well to make the most of any rebounds or stray passes in the circle.
In the other A Grade elimination semi final, the Opens and 15s were on par for the start of their match before the Opens pulled away to win 37-25 against their training partners.
The 15s played a focused game with plenty of pressure put on their Opens opposition in the mid court.
The Opens were forced to modify their “normal game” as the 15s continuously thwarted their attacking play.
Shooting for the 15s, Lauren Urquhart was in sensational form and rarely missed an opportunity under the ring.
Kym Sutton was outstanding for the Opens, showing her player versatility as shooter and then she took control of the mid court when she moved to Centre.
While the 15s can claim a win of the final quarter (out-pointing the Opens 7-6), the Opens had already taken a big lead earlier in the match and finished as 12 point winners.
In B Grade Mystics took control of their match against Hot Shots from the outset and maintained their lead throughout to finish as 51-34 winners.
Rebekkah Harris playing at Goal Attack and Centre for the Mystics was a stand-out in the game.
Hot Shots’ defender Alice Flynn was also a stand-out in Saturday’s match.
Mystics’ win now puts them straight into the B Grade grand final.
OMG and All Sorts met last Saturday in the B Grade elimination semi final with OMG pulling away in the final quarter to claim a 41-30 win.
All Sorts made a good start in Saturday’s game and the scores were locked at 10-all going into the first break.
OMG then took a five goal lead at half time but All Sorts reined it back to just four the difference at three-quarter time.
A cool head and solid shooting by Chloe Ward and Wendy Byrne helped OMG to hold the lead and keep their grand final hopes alive.
OMG will play Hot Shots this Saturday in the final while in A Grade Opens will meet Pumpettes.
