Sting power home to deny Force

Sting power home to deny Force

The introduction of Natalie Avellino proved decisive in the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Sting stealing a 52-48 win over the Fujifilm Force in a key fourth round National Bank Cup netball match on the North Shore today.

The win propelled the Sting into second place on the points table and pushed the Force down to fourth on the back of a second successive loss.
Import Avellino replaced Silver Fern Belinda Colling at halftime with the Australian playmaker proving a pivotal figure in the Sting’s resurgence in the second half and powerful finish down the home straight.

The Force, packed with former and current Silver Ferns, faltered in the final quarter after leading throughout the match and by as much as seven goals in the third quarter with a tentative patch, resulting in a loss of momentum. Play was keenly contested through the midcourt, causing numerous turnovers throughout the match and Anna Galvan’s entrance at wing defence for the Sting in the final quarter also helped thwart the Force’s ball flow.

Avellino’s vision proved inspirational and set up quality shooting positions for Tanya Dalton under the hoop, who continued her impressive season with 29 goals from 30 attempts.

``They kept their heads, they were cool in the end, they were good under pressure and they moved that ball around to get those defenders moving off them,’ a delighted Sting coach Robyn Broughton said. ``I’m really proud of the way it went. We have great confidence in what we do. Our game plan was right and we just had to make sure of our accuracy.’

Force coach Yvonne Willering described the result as ``soul destroying’. ``We did everything right for threequarters and then just froze in the last quarter,’ she said.

The Trusts Diamonds moved into second equal place following a comprehensive 63-43 win over the Genesis Energy Shakers in Wellington today.

Recording their second win on the trot, the Diamonds were superior in all departments with their shooting trio missing just five shots between them today and Anna Scarlett and captain Vic Edward standing out on defence and in the midcourt, respectively.

Ends

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