Dragonfly's v UDI

2nd match for this year saw the Dragonflys facing UDI who they previously lost to in their opening match of this season - 25 - 36.

The first quarter started well with it going goal for goal for each team with the Dragonfly's patiently working the ball around to deliver it safely to their shooters, at the end of the first quarter it was level 8 all.

A swap in the mid court positions for this quarter took some time to settle in and some silly panic passes to the body allowed UDI to pile on the pressure and turn over the ball and convert them into goals. Dragonfly's did fight back but too many errors in decision making meant UDI were able to pull away and had a 4 goal lead going into the half time break, 14 - 18.

After a quick team talk at half-time the girls were on fire in the 3rd quarter and with some impressive team work started chipping away at the UDI's lead. Charlotte, Elizabeth and Melissa worked non-stop in defense piling on the pressure, which meant the flawless shooting from UDI in the first half of the game suddenly wasn't there. Lots of rebounds were successfully retrieved by our defenders and with the help of Tayler, (centre) were moved skillfully down the court to our shooters, Mollie & Caitlin, who although did not convert every time they shot, were quick on the rebound to have another attempt resulting in the Dragonfly's closing the gap to only 1 goal and going into the final quarter 21 -22.

Another change in mid court for the final quarter and a new believe that they could do this saw each team score off their centre passes keeping the score level for the first 6 minutes of this quarter. The Dragonfly's were always chasing due to the centre pass and had to keep the hard work going as one turnover could mean a 3 goal deficit which was hard to come back from. With 4 minutes to go UDI had gone 2 goals ahead and it was looking like UDI would run away with the win as we struggled to get the ball into a decent shooting position. The defense, Katie, Elizabeth & Melissa upped their game with lots of man-on pressure, denying the shooters any space and forcing some wild passes from UDI which we were able to turn over. The mid-court players, Tayler & Abigail worked tirelessly to bring the ball down the court with the help of GA, Mollie, and with some great vision and quick movement were able to deliver the ball to either Caitlin & Mollie near the post for a quick goal. This momentum continued and before we knew it with just over a minute to go we had scored 4 on the trot and were 2 goals ahead. Another turnover in UDI's attacking end left the Dragonfly's 3 goals ahead after quickly moving the ball down the court to our shooters who shot with confidence and scored. As the time was counting down all the girls knew they just had to keep the pressure and momentum going for a little bit longer and with some sensible and safe play scored again to win the final quarter 13 - 8, resulting in a final score of 34 - 30 to the Dragonfly's.

As the final whistle was blown the girls did not even realize they had won due to all their focus was on court and keeping possession of the ball. A really tight fought match against a good opposition but fantastic to see the change and reverse the result from when we played them the first time.

Well done to everyone today for their determination and fight to never stop.

Player of match (voted by opposition): Tayler Staples

Thank you to Hannah White for umpiring & Abigail Balcombe for scoring the 9am match.