Story by Jasmine Goh/Red Sports. Photos by Jerald Ang/Red Sports

M1 supporter of schools netball programme

C-DIV-DMN-SJC-1

C of SJC challenges C of DMN for the possession of the ball. (Photo 1 © Jerald Ang/Red Sports)

CHIJ Toa Payoh, Tuesday, March 31, 2015 — Dunman Secondary (DMN) defeated CHIJ St. Joseph’s Convent (SJC) 34–21 to top their group in their final preliminary game of the National C Division Netball Championship.

This marks Dunman’s third consecutive win in the championship after dominating their previous games against Nan Hua High (NHH) 33–12, and St. Margaret’s Secondary (SMS) 29–19.

Despite the loss, SJC will still advance to the second round as runners-up of Group B. They won their previous games against SMSS and NHH 21–10 and 34–23 respectively.

Both teams were neck-and-neck, maintaining their centre pass possession and exchanged goals in the first few minutes of the quarter. However, SJC could not maintain their momentum, allowing four unanswered goals from Dunman to trail 5–9 after the opening quarter.

Dunman raced off to an early 5–0 scoring run into the second quarter, while SJC struggled with their passes, allowing their opponents to make easy interceptions. Dunman extended their lead by executing SJC turnovers well with their long lobs and accurate passes, pulling ahead to lead 19–9 by half time.

Going into the third quarter, Dunman continued to dominate possession. Dunman’s Goal Attack played a pivotal role with her good runs and shot accuracy, creating good on-court support for her Centre and Goal Shooter. She contributed to eight out of the 10 goals that were scored in this quarter, most of which were on the first attempt.

On the other hand, SJC were more coordinated towards the end of the second half to play a much better game, scoring six more points to trail 15–29.

Keen to narrow the gap, SJC continued to give their opponents a strong fight until the final whistle. However, their defensive efforts were not enough to force sufficient Dunman turnovers to reduce the deficit, leaving Dunman to seal the game 34–21 winners.

SJC captain, Elia Heng, said, “I think we could have done better for today’s match. We played a friendly with Dunman back in December and they have definitely improved as a team. They were much more prepared than we were and performed really well today.”

Scores by Quarter
Dunman vs SJC

1Q: 9–5
2Q: 10–4 (19–9)
3Q: 10–6 (29–15)
4Q: 6–6 (34–21)

Dunman Roster
Charmaine, Wei Ping, Esther, Cynthia, Daphne, Insyirah, Nadiah, Jia Hwee, Felity, Shahidah,

SJC Roster
Agatha Chew Si Ying, Ariel Ang Xin Yi, Ashley Ng Qi Ling, Farah Iffah Arieyani Bte A A, Elia Heng Wai Yee, Heng Zhuo Ling, Joanna Tan Ern Min, Joelyn Carmen Chong, Vera Liong Ling Ning, Megan Michael, Renne Ling Ru Yu, Vera Koh Wen Xi

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