Sunday 2nd April 2023
The Waikato Bay of Plenty team arrived at Wellington Airport at 3.30pm on Saturday 1st April. After an exciting descent the girls were grateful to be back on the ground. The team made their way to Porirua to settle into the motel and get prepared for their captains run that evening.
After heading to Titahi Bay in the morning for a coffee and a morning walk, the team were nice and refreshed heading into the game.
It was a great start to the quarter from WBOP leaping out to a 3-goal lead. The defensive pressure from WBOP caused a bit of disruption to Central Manawa with WBOP getting a few gains. WBOP also made a few silly errors but were able recover and extend their lead to 5 going into the first break.
Quarter score: 13 – 8 to WBOP
Central Manawa brought Parris Mason into GK to try and stop the WBOP shooters. Parris was able to rattle Kate Taylor limiting the ball getting to her. The quarter was slow but Central Manawa were able to catch up and take the lead scoring 13 goals to WBOPs 7.
Half time score: 20 – 21 to Central Manawa
The third quarter saw the injection of Ashley Maylor into GA and a shuffle from WA right through to GD. Reeghan de Bono shifted into GD with Liza Ball moving to WD. Georgia Bodle moved to WA and Hylan Potts going into C. We saw an excellent defensive unit throughout the court with pick-ups and gains from most players on court. This allowed WBOP to have a few good scoring runs winning the quarter 12 – 7, and Ashley Maylor scoring 7 of those.
Three quarter score: 32 – 28 to WBOP
There were no positional changes for the fourth quarter and the belief that WBOP were able to win the game was evident. The team were hungry and managed to look after the ball limiting their error rate. WBOP powered on with a stunning display in the final quarter and extended their lead to win by 9.
Final score: 46 – 37 to WBOP
