Top teams from the Jersey Netball Senior Winter League, Convent A, St Saviour A and St Ouen B travelled to Guernsey at the weekend to compete for Uptons trophies, as the competition returned for the first time since 2019. With tough competition from Guernsey’s top teams, it was Uptons success for Convent and St Ouen.
Division 1: Convent A vs Resolution IT
Division 1 winners, Convent A, kicked off the weekend against Premier Division wines, Resolution IT Green. The first quarter was tightly contested with both teams sizing each other up until Convent went on three mini runs to edge the first quarter 15 – 11.
The second quarter was the beginning of a mixture of strategies, whether man on man or a full court zone defence Convent turned ball. The full court defensive pressure allowed our defensive unit of Katie Doyle and Molly Carre to deny Resolution IT to progress. Our defence to attack with Toni Chaytor and Mollie Luce was slick and fast resulting in shooting opportunities for Rosie Tonner and Emily Green to score. The quarter resulted in 24 – 11 win. Half-time score 39 -22.
Resolution IT changed their personnel bringing on the influential GA Verona Tomlin. The spectators lifted and Convent knew they needed to raise their game to another level which they did. Credit must be given to Molly Carre who was exceptional and intercepted ball time and time again. This spurred Convent on and with our changes of Maddy Fitzgerald Wilkins as WA and Josie Ewing as GK the whole team were on song. Emily Green GS used her experience to vary her play with clever angles and holds, which allowed Rosie Tonner to exploit the circle using her speed and awareness. The shots were on target with 100% accuracy in the quarter. Convent extended their lead by winning the quarter 26 – 13. End of third quarter 65 – 35.
The fourth quarter was clinical with set ups which resulted in clean interceptions. Jodie Blampied POM sighted the set ups and picked off ball and continuously denied circle edge space. Josie Ewing linked well with Molly Carre and more interceptions were made. As Resolution IT tired, Convent were full of running. More pressure was applied with effective 3’ mark which slowed them down. Convent kept the upper hand winning the quarter 23 -11. Final score 88 – 46.
Convent’s centre pass attack to goal was 82% which showed our dominance in this area along with excellent shooting stats. Resolution IT never gave up and with many youngsters in their team, they will have learnt from this opportunity to play different teams. For Convent this topped off an impressive season.
Division 2: St Saviour A vs Specsavers Lightning Storm
Sunday saw the remaining matches for the winners of Divisions 2 and 3, with St Saviour A taking to the court first against Specsavers Lightning Storm. St Saviour’s line up differed slightly to their division-winning combination, with key players missing from the squad. The first quarter saw both teams getting a feel for their opponents, with St Saviour quickly finding pathways into to a different shooting dynamic of Harriet Farber (GS) and Sarah Pita (GA). A very well-matched quarter between the two strong teams ended in an 11-11 draw, although an unfortunate run of turnovers at the start of the second quarter saw St Saviour begin to fall behind. Where St Saviour were struggling to find a winning team combination, Guernsey’s Lighting Storm had settled into theirs, as their shooting duo moved clinically around the circle with accuracy under the post.
St Saviour continued to push forward, as Enya Conway, Becky Gorin and Sam Franco worked tirelessly to make space and break through the mid court to get crucial balls into the shooters. Battling against a strong attacking team, St Saviour’s defenders, Pam Dickson and Ruth Le Gresley showed determination to block out their opponents’ speed and accuracy. With the score leaning in their opponent’s favour at 39-25 going into the final quarter, a change in tactics for St Saviour saw Hayley Pallot taking to the court making to find channels between Lightning Storm’s formidable defence, with Becky Gorin moving into Goal Attack. Despite a fantastic final 15 minutes for the Jersey side, winning the quarter, it was too late to close the gap that the determined Lightning Storm team had created. The final score ended with 50-40 to Specsavers Lightning Storm. Player of the Match for St Saviour was Enya Conway.
Division 3: St Ouen B vs Praxis Thunder Blue
Rounding up the weekend were Division 3 champions, St Ouen B, who were keen to maintain their success across the season against Guernsey’s Division 2 winners, Praxis Thunder Blue. It was clear for both teams from the start that this was not going to be an easy game, with Praxis Thunder’s strong defence across the court forcing St Ouen to work hard to feed the ball into their shooters. The young Guernsey side showed confidence and determination when playing, although St Ouen’s experience and strength as a team gave them the edge, ending the first quarter with a 2-goal lead. St Ouen’s trio of Lisa Neil, Jessica Southern, and Emma Le Main applied pressure to the opposing shooters, with any missed goal being turned over due to their reflexive rebounds and consistent interceptions. Support on the side lines came from St Ouen’s coach, Paige Mason, who gave calm, focused advice to her team to ensure that each player stayed on track with eyes on the game.
The battle continued mid-court, with Praxis Thunder boasting youth and speed to gain some ball through sharp challenges and interceptions, showing their opponents that each ball was to be fought for. Julie Gould, Michala Graham and Lauren Taylor worked harmoniously to find every opportunity to get the ball into St Ouen’s shooting team of Lauren Byrne, Sarah Atwood and Zoe Barrett-Banks. Praxis Thunder quickly identified the strength of the tall holding shooters, changing up their defence to challenge this. However, St Ouen were able to adapt and continue with a high shooting accuracy to maintain a lead throughout the game, going into the final quarter 23-18.
It was this nail-biting final quarter that really saw Praxis Thunder shine as a side, with changes across the court giving them the boost to close the gap after a series of goals. St Ouen dug deep to combat this rally, continuing to push down the court to get the ball to goal. Crucial turnovers from Jersey’s defenders were converted into much-needed points at the other end, however it was neck and neck for the dying minutes of the game, with St Ouen maintaining their composure amongst support from an enthusiastic home crowd. At the final whistle, St Ouen had managed to snatch a goal to keep them in the lead at 31-30, ending their season undefeated to take home the Upton trophy for only the third time in it’s history. Joint player of the match for St Ouen went to defenders, Lisa Neil (GK) and Jessica Southern (GD).
