The match between the Eastern Cape Comets and the Kingdom Queens kicked start the second leg of the Telkom Netball League in Rustenburg this morning. The Comets secured their third victory of the tournament after beating the Queens 38-31 in the opening game to keep their top four finish hopes alive in Division two. However, Queens coach- Zola Starke says she has run out of ideas, ‘’I’m frustrated and disappointed. I really expected better from my shooters this time around because we had a great practice session yesterday. We had a positive mindset coming into this game but I’m not quite sure what to do now’’.
In the second game, the Northern Cape Diamonds stunned the Limpopo Baobabs following a 62-58 victory. The Baobabs led 15-14 in a tightly contested first quarter, but the Diamonds managed to turn the tables in the second quarter and pulled away to lead 34-27. The match intensified in the final quarter as the Baobabs attempted a mini comeback to close the gap to just two points in the last five minutes of the game but the few unforced errors that were made in the end cost them crucial points.
Meanwhile, the Gauteng Jaguars continued with their winning ways and maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament after beating the Kingdom Stars 50-33 this afternoon. The Stars had a competitive start to the game, trailing behind by just four goals in the first quarter but the defending champions took control with a 24-14 lead in the second quarter. Three judicious attacking changes and renewed vigour saw the Stars fight back to even the third quarter ten all, but the Jaguars’ dominance proved to be too strong for the KZN side.
‘’We’ll take the win. The Stars gave us a great game and we are well aware of the fact that the four teams that we have left to play are one of the teams that will make it to the semi-finals as we have our semi-final spot secured. So, it’s important for us to really get as much information out of the games we play and to start preparing for that as well’’, Jaguars coach- Jenny van Dyk said after the game.
