Stings tame Jaguars while Tornados blow away Sunbirds

The match of the day saw Stings take on Jaguars in the final clash of the day of the Telkom Netball League. It was Stings who took the game 53-51 handing Jaguars their first defeat of the season.

Both teams were evenly matched however it was Stings that scraped through with an extra point finishing the quarter 13-12. The Jaguars were not about to sit back and allow Stings run wild – they found their way back into the game.

Coach Rozanne Matthyse made a tactical change in the second quarter moving Phophi Nematangari from Centre to Wing Defence while moving captain Tshina Mdau to Wing Attack.

This change seemed to yield instant results as Nematangari intercepted a lot of Stings attacks. The last two minutes of the quarter proved to be worthwhile for the Jaguars as they clawed their way back into the match even though they trailed 29-27 at half-time.

The third quarter was no different as both teams kept going at each with Stings head coach Freda Kemp rotating her team throughout the quarter and this paid dividends as they finished the quarter 49-43 ahead.

It was in the final quarter where things got super-heated – the last two minutes of the game were nail biting as Jaguars missed three two pointer chances which meant the Sting took the victory.

The start of the afternoon at the Durban University of Technology saw Mpumalanga Sunbirds take on their fierce Western Cape Tornados.

Both teams were deadlocked for the first 13 minutes of the match however it was Tornados who pulled away in the last two minutes, taking advantage and making the most of the Supershot and went into the first quarter break leading 13-9.

The Western Cape outfit started the second quarter the same way they ended the first one, with intensity and dominance. Sunbirds were not clinical and this allowed Tornados to capitalise on those errors and cement their lead. Tornados were leading 26-21 going into half-time.

Tornados peeled away in the championship quarter – despite the changes that coach Faith Mobeng made, Sunbirds were struggling to get back into the game. Tornados used their supershots chances wisely and clinched the match 58-42.

Eastern Cape Aloes clashed with North West outfit Flames in a mouth-watering encounter. Both teams needed to get maximum points from this match, as both sides had suffered from a slow start to the TNL. It was the Flames who seemed the hungrier of the two as the dominated better part of the match until Aloes staged a late comeback. The coaches were facing each other for the eighth time and it is coach Adine Adriaanse who came out on top recording her sixth win against Zandile Njeza’s two as the Flames won 53-47.

Kingdom Queens, who have been one of the fan favourites in Durban, faced North West Tshukudu in Division 2 clash. Queens came into this match high in confidence as they are yet to lose a match after two games while Tshukudu have recorded one win and one loss in as many games. Both teams were evenly matched in the opening quarter before Queens hopped on a runaway train, winning 47-35.