Team SA’s netballers got off to a flying start in their pursuit of retaining their gold medal status at the Region 5 Youth Games. The Under-20s defeated Zambia 53-38 in their opening game in Pool A at The Showgrounds on Sunday, writes Mark Lemke in Windhoek.
Team SA started strong, finishing the first quarter 17-7 ahead. They continued to dominate through the attacking pair of Lente Kroukamp, who played Goal Attack, and the Goal Shooter, Maria du Raan, who scored most of the goals in the first half giving the side a 28-18 lead heading into the third quarter.
Half-time saw six out of seven players replaced. This influx of new players did not rock the rhythm as Team SA maintained their advantage until the final whistle with Zambia unable to close the gap to under 10 goals at any point. The third quarter finished 40-25.
Head coach, Emily Mathosa, spoke after the game about her expectations before the match and how her team fared in comparison. “We knew that playing against Zambia would not be an easy game and we did not score as many goals as we were looking to, but I am pleased with how the girls played. It was the first game, so we wanted to give all the players time on the court, and I am happy that everyone put in a good shift.”
The captain of the side, Kiara van Eeden, provided her reflection on the performance and her experience playing on the court for the first time. “I am happy with our performance. We have not had an opportunity to train together and although we expected to win, we still had to go out and do it. The court was quite slippery which was challenging, but we handled it well and we are looking forward to building on this win in our pursuit of defending our champion status.”
The confident netballers will be back in action Monday to take on Eswatini at 5.30pm and will be looking to improve on Sunday’s performance and gather momentum for the knockout rounds.
Photo: Frennie Shivambu