The Standard |
MERRIVALE has put a space between itself and the chasing pack with a 54-41 win over Deakin University on Saturday.
The Tigers sit snugly in fourth place on the ladder and are now six points clear of the sixth-placed Sharks.
An even first quarter saw the Tigers put their noses in front 13-10 on their home court.
But it was a second-quarter burst from the Tigers that proved to be the game changer.
They shot 16 goals to 10 to open up a nine-goal lead at half-time and then controlled the third quarter to slip out to a 41-28 lead at the last change.
The last quarter saw the Sharks fight back to produce a break-even quarter of 13 goals each to keep the final margin to a respectable one.
Merrivale coach Tania Ross praised the efforts of her attacking end, where Hayley Kelson scored 33 goals and Danielle McInerney 21.
“I was really impressed with our attack, they combined really well today,” Kelson said.
“Even when we made some positional changes everyone adjusted to fit in with what we were trying and our shooters were very accurate all game.
“Having Elisha Carter back has also been a big boost. She gives us a lot of drive in the centre and at wing attack.
“Her passing into our goalies is something to watch and she is also very good defensively when we need her to be.”
This was a game the Tigers could not afford to drop as they have the toughest run home over the next three weeks.
Ahead they will be up against top-three teams Panmure, Dennington and Old Collegians — a challenging assignment that Ross believes her team is ready for.
“Our focus is to keep winning each game we play and if we can do that then we will play finals.
“We will go into each week trying to combat the strengths of the teams we are playing and target their weaknesses.
“If we make finals we will have to be able to beat the top teams so the next three weeks are no different.”
Deakin University coach Kim Jamieson said her best team’s players were also in the attacking half of the court with Melissa Burt shooting 29 goals and Nicole Richie a star in the centre.
Jamieson said the Sharks had played well but the second quarter fade-out had proved costly.
“We made some changes at three-quarter-time and the girls did really well to match them in the last quarter,” Jamieson said.
“But that second quarter really hurt us.
“That inconsistency has been a bugbear of ours all season and playing poorly for a quarter has been the thing that has let us down.
“We want to play finals and we are still a chance so that is what we will keep fighting for over the next three weeks.”