T
he Under 15s started their season
with real energy and determination,
though Queen's were undoubtedly
more experienced. But we showed great
character to win a tight encounter a few
days later at Blundell's, who fought hard
to claw back our four-goal lead, but we
showed tremendous resilience.
The Wellington match saw us put on a
terrific display of flowing netball. The
team worked beautifully together - Mollie
Merchant hardly missed a shot, and
Chloe Martin earned her player of the
match award for her persistent
interceptions and focus. It was another
fine win against tough opposition at
Exeter School. Emma Smith defended
with tenacity, while Mollie Merchant and
Iona Frith-Fletcher shot accurately to
nudge us towards a narrow 13-10 victory.
Despite missing two regular first team
players, we put up a great fight against a
strong Millfield side. India Bannister
adjusted well to playing for the As and
offered great support in the circle, but
player of the match went to Iona FrithFletcher
for her fantastic work rate and
use of space on court.
After a challenging afternoon against
Clifton, the Taunton School fixture saw us
decimated by injury, and at one point we
had to continue with just six players!
However the girls' work rate and
determination was inspirational, as was
Emma Smith's performance as
goalkeeper.
A
new-look Bs took on a more
experienced Blundell's side, and
found the pace and skill of the
opposition difficult to live with. However
there were some good partnerships
beginning to take shape on court.
Against Wellington we set the pace of
play, and excellent communication
between player of the match Alex Taylor
and Pearllan Cipriano allowed us to get
the ball into the attacking third for the
shooters to score. After a comfortable
win at Exeter School, (players of the
match were Sam Loomie and India
Bannister), we travelled to Millfield where
we held an 11-goal lead by half-time.
Xena Kirby and Olivia Hake defended well
in the circle, and the shooters were on
form, with Felicity Hamilton and
Samantha Loomie scoring from all areas
of the circle.
After losing a very competitive match
against Clifton, we enjoyed a thoroughly
excellent win at Taunton School, with
some spirited defending by Xena Kirby
and Olivia Hake providing plenty of
turnover ball. Player of the match was
Alex Taylor, and last-minute replacement
Sophie Gibb contributed some well-timed
interceptions.
We started well at Canford and led by two
goals in the first quarter, but the
opposition increased the tempo of their
game, and despite some dogged defence
and some excellent shooting from India
Bannister and Samantha Loomie, we
were sadly unable to hold on to our lead.
72
Netball
Under 15s
Grace Murray controls the ball
in midfield against Clifton
The Cs beat Blundell's 9-6 thanks to
some accurate interceptions by Xena
Kirby and Chloe House and
outstanding shooting by Veronica
Buchmann, and then went on to
beat Millfield 11-3. We did
magnificently to fight back after a
poor first quarter against Clifton, and
gradually we gained control of the
match to win 24-16. The
opposition described us as "an
amazing team"! And then on to a
convincing win at Canford - a fitting
end to an unbeaten season, full of
great teamwork and terrific spirit.