The Sunbirds and the Diamonds locked horns in an invigorating clash that went down to the wire. The Sunbirds had a seven-goal lead in the first quarter, but the Diamond’s willpower saw them level the score at half time. Pressure was mounting on both shooting circles to convert those goals when the game was 43 all in the last five minutes. Diamonds coach- Karien Opperman asked for strategic stoppage time to calm her girls down, but mental strength had to come in play for both sides and at the end it was Sunbirds’ shooter- Alyssa Trahms goal that secured them a 47-46 win in the last five seconds of the game.
Trahms had an eighty three percent goal average after scoring twenty out of twenty-four attempts. The Diamonds got more intercepts and turnovers than the Mpumalanga team but were unable to use those to their advantage. The Diamonds got to have a taste of their own medicine after beating the Queens by two goals in the dying minutes of the game yesterday. Karien says her players lack composure, ‘’It is a little bit disappointing, but I also know my girls were fighting all the way. There are times where I feel they need to control their nerves and get the placement of the ball right, but this is a team sport and they fought as a team’’.
The Fireballs and the Flames were up against each other in the last match. Both sides went into this game looking to break their winless streak in the competition. The Gauteng team succeeded after a close 45-41 win, and they will be hoping to build on that in their next game against a solid Stings team. Fireballs coach- Rozanne Matthyse believes her team is ready for their next encounter, ‘’Our game plan has been working for the past few games, but our error rate has been very high. We are going to work on tight defense and making sure our second ball works. It’s going to be hard against the Stings, but my team can do it’’
