Somerset Knockout Cup
Sydenham Gems 48, Galmington Hovelands 42

THE semi-finals of the Knockout Cup took place this weekend, with some Gems having a sore head because of a surprise party the night before.

The last time Gems played Hovelands they won by one goal, but Hovelands had a very different team from that last match.

Gems didn’t start well, giving away possession and falling 6-0 behind after six minutes, but they managed to settle down and then started to eat into Hovelands’ lead to get within four goals.

For the second quarter Danni moved from WD to C, and Amy went to WD, which saw better movement from the centre court and feeding into the circle.

By the end of the quarter Hovelands led 24-23.

With a talk from coach Sammie at half time, encouraging the team to continue as they had been playing in the second quarter, resetting and trying to get the interceptions, Gems were raring to go again.

Great tips from the defence gave Gems a huge boost and by the end of the third period they were 38-33 up.

The final quarter saw the hard work up and down court continue, with great communication and interceptions, and the match was won 48-42.

Gems are now in the final of the cup, on April 22 at Taunton Vale.

Player of the match: Mikki Hole.

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Somerset County League Division 1
Sydenham Sapphires 35, Taunton Tone 55

SAPPHIRES faced Tone from Taunton on a cold, but thankfully dry, Saturday morning for a first division fixture.

The first quarter saw Sapphires take a while to settle, allowing Tone to take a convincing lead.

But the second and third quarter saw Sapphires show more determination with some interceptions and team defence working well.

Although the attack was able to pull back some goals during the second and third quarter, it was not enough to prevent Tone making turnovers and shooting accurately, pulling away to win the match.

Player of the match: Rachel Lawrence.