Bridgwater Jupiter 31, Pinehurst 51

JUPITER’S Regional campaign started on Saturday with a new line-up for the new season, hosting Pinehurst from Swindon. 

In the first half, Jupiter started strongly, initially matching Pinehurst goal for goal, but the visitors obtained turnovers which enabled them to pull away to a 19-7 lead in the first quarter. 

Jupiter’s defence of Sally Haysham and Emily Bridges then switched positions and this put more pressure on the Pinehurst shooters, restricting their goal scoring opportunities as they finished the first half trailing 13 goals to 30.

In the second half, changes made by Jupiter saw a renewed confidence and strong passing down the court by Alisha Gardener, linking up with Cerys Ethridge then Ellie Schofield, saw sharp passing into shooters Maddie Kennard and Kia Jenner and Jupiter started to gain momentum finishing the third quarter 24-43.

In the final quarter, strong defending restricted Pinehurst.

All in all, it was a good start for a new Jupiter line-up.

Joint player of the match: Emily Bridges & Cerys Ethridge. 

Neptune 18, Vipers 52

AFTER changes in the team line-up due to injuries, Neptune took the court against a very strong side from Paulton, who took control of the game from the start. 

Neptune grew in confidence through the game, with sharp passing from Beth Hayes and Cath Clark into the shooters enabling Katie Harris and Phoebe Alderwick to convert the goals.  

Abbie Newton, Abbey Alderwick and Katie Anthony put pressure on the Vipers attack to try and stem the lead and helped to bring the ball down the court to the Neptune attack.

Player of the match: Abbie Newton. 

Venus 23, Spears 48

THE second game of the season saw a slow start with the first quarter dominated by Spears. 

Defenders Bex Dunn, Chris Durant, Tiffany Brice and Ashleigh Slater fought well against their Spears shooters and gained some interceptions and tips. 

Venus attackers Chris Shaw, Gail Cornish and Elaine Bowerman worked hard to bring the ball down the court but unfortunately the game ended in a 23-48 defeat.

Player of the match: Chris Durant. 

Mars 27, Arrows 17

MARS quickly got into the game and, although it was a low-scoring game, there was determination for a win from the outset.  

Great passing by Jess Chee (C) into the shooters Jo Prowse (GS) and Izzy Innalls (GA) enabled Mars to quickly gain a lead which they maintained throughout the game. 

Strong defending by Ella Smith (WD), Jazz Alexander (GD) and Ashley Slater (GK) restricted Arrows shooting opportunities which allowed Mars to control the game and secure victory. 

Player of the match: Jazz Alexander.

Sydenham Rubies 40, Reckleford 38

SYDENHAM Rubies secured another win at the weekend, this time at home to Reckleford.

They were missing a lot of players and so had Emeralds players stepping up. 

Right from the first whistle throughout it was a nail-biting match and both sides kept the playing field level. 

The first quarter Rubies were off to a quick start and managed to utilise their first centre straight into a goal. 

However, by the end of the first quarter the score was 10-9 to Reckleford.

The second quarter saw only one change with Katie Issit moving out of GK and into WD making way for Grace Morris to step back into GK giving a little more height in the semi-circle. 

Katie Issit (WD), Jess Bull (GD) and Grace Morris (GK) put the pressure on in the second quarter getting lots of turnovers and sending the ball back down to the attacking end to get as many much needed goals as possible. 

As a result the quarter ended 21-23 to Rubies.

The third saw Katie Rowles come on as (WD) and Katie step back to GK once again. 

Centre court players Anna Jenkin (WA) and Lilly Paul were in excellent form feeding the ball into the semi-circle so shooters Carly Langdon (GA) and Michelle Jenkins (GS) could get every possible shot in. 

Rubies had a strong quarter and ended at 31-28 up.

In the last quarter, both teams were getting fatigued and making mistakes and it seemed as though Reckleford were going to pull it back.

But Rubies rallied and kept possession, managing to end the game 40-38 ahead.

POM: Carly Langdon (GA); umpires’ vote: Lilly Paul (C), Michelle Jenkins (GS).

The Rubies’ captain would like to thank every one of the Emeralds girls who stepped up and played a blinder.

Teamwork makes the dream work. It was an honour.

Emeralds 24, Chalice 54 

EMERALDS went out with a mixed team on Saturday, some of whom were playing their first adult game. 

The defence worked really hard to stop goals yet, unfortunately, Chalice shooters were strong which resulted in victory by a big margin.

Throughout the game, the centre court linked well to the shooters who consistently shot throughout the game.