The Busselton Magpies met the Eaton Boomers at the South West Sports Centre on Sunday, July 7.
For the League team it was a must-win game for the Magpies to keep their finals chances alive.
For the 16s it was a win to stay on top of the ladder.
LEAGUE
The Magpies got off to a steady start with strong defence and quick ball movement from Mia Pethybridge and Georgia O'Neill into the dynamic duo Maia Bratton and Yasmin Riley, who combined with some accurate shooting putting the Magpies in front by seven goals with a 21-14 scoreline.
The Boomers responded in the second quarter outscoring the Magpies 17-10 as the Magpies lost their lead with scores level at half-time 31-31.
The third quarter was an excellent showcase of good hard netball by the Magpies.
The strong combination of Ash Ritson in centre with O'Neill in wing attack penetrated the forward line and executed control around the circle edge.
The tireless efforts of Shukia Riley and Tamara Thornley in defence paid off with multiple spectacular intercepts and turnovers being converted.
The full court defensive work from the Magpies was rewarded with the Boomers being stung with multiple held ball penalties.
The Magpies outscored the Boomers 18-7 to lead 49-38.
The Boomers tried to push early in the final term but another brilliant quarter by Meg Bolton in wing defence shut down their midcourt.
Phoebe Pethybridge added some fresh legs through the centrecourt as the Magpies held strong in the final quarter to take a convincing win 59-49 going into the mid-season break.
Busselton Bush Shack Steakhouse Player of the day was awarded to Maia Bratton.
After a slow start to the season the League team has shown what they are capable of as they now sit in fourth position on the ladder with little separating the top four teams: HBL on 14 points, Carey Park and Bunbury on 12, Magpies on 11 and Eaton on 10.
16 and Under
In the 16s Eaton came out firing and the Magpies looked a little rattled in the first few minutes with Eaton pushing out to a quick 3 - 0 lead.
The momentum soon turned however, as a result of a Felicity Watson intercept.
The Magpies settled into a lovely style of play for the remainder of the quarter.
Isabel Legros worked hard through the centre, and accurate shooting from Emma Jackson and Sally Conroy saw the scoreline recover to 16 - 9 by the end of the quarter.
The second quarter saw Elle Mullumby enter the game and the hard-working centre court player made her presence felt immediately.
The Magpies blazed away at both ends of the court, piling on six unanswered goals, before Eaton settled and pushed back with a more even quarter 11-10 goals.
Magpies were up 27 -19 at the half time break.
At the main break changes were made with Jordan Sapsford moving into goal attack and Montana Ternadi stepped into goal defence.
Ternadi's signature tight defence was outstanding from the siren and when coupled with Dakota Nelmes the young Magpies pushed out their lead to 41 - 29.
Legros stepped back in for the final quarter and Sapsford continued with a glorious shooting exhibition.
Watson was running hard through the centre, her speed catching the Boomers by surprise on occasions.
Kalani Bate-Henry made a wonderful intercept during the term and Conroy was rebounding hard and continued to shoot well under pressure.
All in all, it was a lovely exhibition of netball by a well-drilled team who have come together beautifully under the tutelage of coach Beth Stokes and manager Roz Sapsford.
The Magpies squad now has a well-earned break until after the school holiday period.
The 16s sit in first position ahead of the Blackwood Ravens on percentage, while the Masters sit third, 18s sit second, and League fourth on the South West Netball Football League (SWFNL) ladder.
The next game is against the Carey Park Panthers on July 27 at the South West Sports Centre with 18s at 1.15pm and 16s and League at 2.45pm.
