Story by REDintern Nicole Lum. Photos by REDintern Jerald Ang

M1 supporter of schools netball programme

B-DIV-SCGS-NV-1

Chan Chear Cha (GA) of SCGS narrowly misses the pass from a teammate. (Photo 1 © REDintern Jerald Ang)

Republic Polytechnic Sports Complex, Wednesday, February 25, 2015 — Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS) hung on to defeat North Vista Secondary 22–20 in their first round two game of the North Zone B Division Netball Championship.

With the victory, SCGS hold a 7–0 win-loss record with wins against Serangoon Secondary (32–15), Naval Base Secondary (46–13), Canberra Secondary (59–2), Riverside Secondary (42–10), Evergreen Secondary (49–9) and Bowen Secondary (20–17).

As for North Vista, they drop to a 6–1 win-loss record, with previous wins against Northland Secondary (43–9), Punggol Secondary (42–10), Admiralty Secondary (58–2), CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ (29–20) and Woodlands Secondary (64–2).

In the first half of the first quarter, SCGS took complete control of the game while North Vista struggled to keep up. This saw SCGS execute a 5–0 scoring run.

However, in the next half of the quarter, North Vista began to warm up and eventually took advantage of the opportunities SCGS left in their wake. Poor defence by SCGS allowed North Vista through, and through several rebounds and SCGS turnovers, North Vista were able to score four goals to trail 4–8 at the end of the first quarter.

Both schools improved on their defence in the next quarter, with commendable efforts by their Wing Attacks and Goal Keepers. SCGS and North Vista scored one after another, adding four points apiece in this quarter with SCGS leading 12–8 at the end of the quarter.

The third quarter saw North Vista stepping up, giving SCGS a run for their money. North Vista intercepted many of SCGS’s inaccurate passes and converted their shots at the net. The North Vista Goal Shooter, Gina Tan, was a key contributor as she made five out of the eight goals scored in this quarter. North Vista closed the deficit to only one point (16–17) at the end of the quarter.

It was clear that SCGS needed to better their team play in order to keep the lead. However, the start of the final quarter saw North Vista secure offensive rebounds and equalize.

SCGS fought back, aggressively chasing the ball and tried their best to prevent North Vista from stealing the ball. Their efforts paid off as they regained the lead with two more goals at the end of the game to go home as 22–20 victors.

SCGS captain, Kelly Lee, said, “We fought hard even though we made a lot of mistakes. Our fighting spirit and teamwork led us to win the game today, and the encouragement we gave to each other helped a lot.”

SCGS will next face Anderson Secondary at 4.00 p.m. on Monday, March 2. North Vista will take on Christ Church Secondary on the same day at 3.00 p.m. Both games will be played at Republic Polytechnic Sports Complex.

Scores by Quarter
North Vista vs SCGS
1Q: 4–8
2Q: 4–4 (8–12)
3Q: 8–5 (16–17)
4Q: 4–5 (20–22)

SCGS Roster
Xanthia Lye, Chan Chear Cha, Kelly Lee, Chung Zhiwei, Michelle Ang, Sineka Kottai Muthu, Phoebe Lai, Wang An Qi, Joey Boey, Marilyn Lee, Ng Ruo Yee, Ang Kai Hui

North Vista Roster
Gina Tan, Beatrice, Sharleyne, Afqira, Grace, Jodie, Michelle, Gina, Elaine, Nicole, Vera, Yilin

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