GN and WP Slug it Out

 

The SPAR Inter-provincial Tournament was in desperate need of some action and as the weather warmed up yesterday, so did the matches.

 

Gauteng North and Western Province started the day unbeaten, but both teams hit a bit of snag as the day progressed.

Western Province started the day with a promising 58-42 victory over Free State, while North went down 44-30 to Boland.

The events of the morning did well to set up the clash of the day, as North went up against Western Province in one of the final matches of the day.

 

Province’s unbeaten tag hung by a thread as the match progressed, and North held on to clinch a 38-32 victory.

 

“This was definitely a big win, and it will get us into a good position as we near the finals,” said North team coach Elize Kotze.

 

North have been somewhat of a surprise package this year considering the team is so young, but Kotze has done a great job to get them up to standard.

 

“We had to start all over with this squad three years ago, and it has taken lots of hard work and analysis of teams to get here,” Kotze said.

 

Although her team has done really well this week, there’s still has a few things she’d like to improve on as the tournament reaches its business end.

 

“I think we have to work harder on our defense as well as our link-up play,” she said.

 

Those slight improvements could see them through to the weekend, but a few surprises would certainly turn up the heat another notch.

Log and Results of the SPAR National Netball Championships, played at KwaZulu-Natal University Indoor Sports Centre, Howard Campus on Wednesday, 8 August 2007:

1.    Gauteng North – 10 points
2.    Western Province – 10 points
3.    North West South – 8 points
4.    Boland – 8 points
5.    Nelson Mandela Bay – 6 points
6.    Gauteng East – 4 points
7.    Free State – 4 points
8.    Central Gauteng – 2 points
9.    Zululand – 0 points

Women’s Section A
North West South 63 – 32 Zululand
Western Province 58 – 42 Free State
Nelson Mandel Bay 30 – 12 Gauteng Central
Boland 50 – 36 Gauteng North
North West South 50 – 33 Gauteng East
Nelson Mandela 46 – 42 Free State
Gauteng North 44 – 38 Western Province
Gauteng Central 55 – 34 Zululand
 
Women’s Section B
Gauteng Vaal 47 – 18 Limpopo North East
Lowveld 48 – 46 Amathole
Griqualand West 49 – 19 Capricorn
Gauteng West 80 – 31 Amathole
Gauteng West 58 – 40 Western Province
Swartland 44 – 37 Lowveld
Griqualand West 64 – 24 Limpopo North East
 
Women’s Section C
Waterberg 63 – 34 North West Central
South West District 59 – 29 Griqualand West
Midlands 49 – 42 Ethekwini
Highveld 59 – 39 OR Tambo
North West East 39 – 27 Central Boland
Waterberg 55 – 26 Ethekwini
South Western Districts 52 – 22 North West Central
Ethekwini 51 – 39 Central Boland