Story by REDintern Iman Hashim. Photos by Clara Yuan/Red Sports

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(GA) of RGS jumps to get the ball. (Photo 1 © Clara Yuan/Red Sports)

OCBC Arena, Thursday, January 28, 2016 — Raffles Girls’ School (RGS) all but ensured their progress into the second round of the South Zone B Division Netball Championship with a resounding 43–5 win over Ang Mo Kio Secondary School (AMK).

With the victory, RGS improves to a 2–0 win-loss record and moves to the top of the Group D standings. RGS had previously beaten Serangoon Garden Secondary 69–2.

On the other hand, Ang Mo Kio had lost to Chong Boon Secondary 11–25 in their opening game, making this their second loss in the competition.

The game took some time to take off, with the opening exchanges being rather even with both teams struggling to muster a shot. But once RGS found their rhythm, they quickly raced into a 10–2 lead in the first quarter. Goal Shooter (GS) Sarah Ong scored 4 of her 5 shots while Goal Attack (GA) Natalia Maluquer converted 6 of her 7 attempts.

AMK tried to break the RGS defence line but could only muster four shots in the opening two quarters, of which only two went in. RGS’s resolute defence was anchored by Goal Keeper (GK) Miki Ng, who stood tall to intercept any lobs that AMK sent into the semi-circle.

In contrast, RGS scored 13 points without reply in the second quarter, with Goal Attack (GA) Alexandra Tan troubling the AMK defence with incisive runs in and out of the semi-circle. This was complemented by Wing Attack (WA) Trena, who had a lively game distributing the ball in the attacking half of the court.

The third quarter proved to be more conservative as the RGS coach took the opportunity to switch her players around in different positions, with Shaune Chow coming on as Goal Shooter (GS).

In the final quarter, Sarah returned to GS with Shaune as GA, while Alexandra was moved to WA. This paid dividends as RGS started to pull away, scoring 11 more as sharpshooters Sarah and Shaune converted 7 out of 8 and 4 out of 4 of their shots respectively.

On the team’s performance, RGS vice-captain Nicole Lee said, “I think at the start of the game we were not calm enough, with our passes being a bit rushed. But as the game progressed, we became more stable and could play more fluidly.”

RGS will next meet Chong Boon Secondary on Friday, February 12 at Mayflower Secondary School while Ang Mo Kio will look for their first win against Serangoon Garden Secondary on Monday, February 1 at Kallang Netball Centre.

Scoring By Quarter
RGS vs AMK
1st Q: 10–2
2nd Q: 13–0 (23–2)
3rd Q: 9–2 (32–4)
4th Q: 11–1 (43–5)

RGS Roster
Sarah Ong, Natalia Maluquer, Trena, Siwen, Hui Ping, Esther Kim Hyun Young, Miki Ng, Annabelle Lim, Alexandra Tan, Shaune Chow, Nicole Lee

AMK Roster
Cristabel Chong, Toh Liang Xuan, Fayth Wong, Cally Leong, Alicia Chin, Sara Chan, Ng Xin Wei, Ng Kai Li, Leow Xi Zhi, Nellie Ng, Grace Tan

More photos next page