Saturday 13th April 2024
The pre-season for the WBOP SHNL team has been intense and exciting, with the squad having a great team building camp earlier in the year where they were able to set expectations and gather a thorough understanding of what the season ahead looks like.
The group this year have been very enthusiastic and have shown a high level of intensity at trainings and during their pre-season games.
The team came into their Captains run early on Saturday morning where they were joined by both Magic Training Partners – Kate Taylor and Jessie Taylor. It was good to introduce these players to structures and combinations that the coaches have been working on for the last couple of months.
The team started the first quarter well scoring the first two goals. The remainder of the quarter we saw a very good tussle with both teams taking a bit of time to settle. Jessie Taylor picked up five gains and one intercept in the quarter allowing the team to win the quarter 13-10. Quarter score: 13 – 10 to WBOP
In the second quarter Halaevalu Toutaiolepo moved to WD with Charlice Bryce coming on at GD with WBOP increasing their margin by 7 with a run of 3 and a run of 5 goals. However, with the injection of Marvels shooter Stacey Ah Van, WBOP were up against a more mobile shooting circle. We also saw a few more errors creeping in allowing Marvels to score 10 in a row. With WBOP now being down by two points the coaches switched it up by putting Jade Kawhe in at GA and Bex Williamson into GD with 2 minutes left in the quarter. Bex picked up a couple of gains and a rebound allowing WBOP to pull back the score finishing the quarter 25-26. Half time score: 25 – 26 to Marvels
The third quarter saw WBOP continue with the same line up. The girls put everything out on court regaining momentum and scoring a few runs of 3. The team winning the quarter 13-10. Three quarter score: 38 – 36 to WBOP
In the final quarter we see the introduction of Demi Moana in at GS. We saw a few general play turnovers across the board allowing the Marvels to get a couple of runs of 3. Once again with two minutes left on the clock WBOP found themselves down by two goals. The defence then applied as much pressure as they could stopping the Marvels shooters from sinking their last two goals ending the match with a draw. Final score: 49 – 49 Draw
It was a thrilling first match with both teams taking time to settle their nerves. It was great to see WBOP get all 12 players on court to build their confidence going into the remaining games of the competition. It was awesome to see WBOP’s determination to keep fighting in the second half.
