Story by REDintern Iman Hashim. Photos by REDintern Chua Kai Yun.

GS of SSP aims for the net. (Photo 1 © REDintern Chua Kai Yun)

GS of SSP aims for the net. (Photo 1 © REDintern Chua Kai Yun)

Republic Polytechnic, Wednesday, February 3, 2016 — Last year’s national first runners-up Singapore Sports School (SSP) showed no mercy as they brushed aside Sembawang Secondary 78–1 in the North Zone B Division Netball Championship preliminary round.

This was SSP’s fourth win out of their opening four matches. They had earlier trounced Marsiling Secondary, Yio Chu Kang Secondary and Riverside Secondary 61–1, 39–13 and 56–6 respectively. This impressive run of wins assures their qualification into Round 2.

For Sembawang, this was their third loss in the competition, having been beaten by Marsiling 14–15 and Woodlands Ring Secondary 19–25.

SSP stepped on the gas pedal right from the start of the game, with their game-play clearly far superior than Marsiling’s. SSP’s physical presence also dwarfed that of the Marsiling players, while their extreme agility and swift passing around the court were just no match for their opponents.

On the contrary, Marsiling’s Goal Shooter (GS) Yuan Huey often looked forlorn in her attacking semi-circle, as she barely got hold of the ball for the entire game.

Things were just not going the right way for Sembawang right from the start, as their Wing Attack (WA) Natisha was helped off the court with a suspected ankle injury.

SSP’s technical superiority was underlined by their Goal Shooters’ (GS) shooting proficiency. Cherylyn Kuan started as GS and enjoyed an 81 percent conversion rate, scoring 30 of her 37 shots. In the last two quarters, Nicole Shin moved from Wing Defence (WD) to GS and converted 17 of her 23 attempts.

SSP’s Goal Attacks (GA) – Sherlyn Yip for the first three quarters and Zoey Sin for the last quarter – were not too shabby either, chipping in decently with commendable conversion rates. Wing Attack (WA) Nur Insyirah and Centre (C) Laura Low also turned up with lively performances, distributing the ball efficiently in the attacking half of the court.

SSP will look to maintain their perfect record for the fifth game running when they meet Woodlands Ring Secondary on Friday, February 19. For Sembawang, they will try to clinch their first win against Yio Chu Kang Secondary on Friday, February 12. Both matches are held at Republic Polytechnic.

Scoring By Quarter
SSP vs Sembawang
1st Q: 22–1
2nd Q: 18–0(40–1)
3rd Q: 18–0 (58–1)
4th Q: 20–0 (78–1)

SSP Roster
Cherylyn Kuan, Sherlyn Yip, Nur Insyirah, Laura Low, Nicole Shin, Kaylee Lim, Wah Tzy Hyi, Nurain Hassan, Zoey Sin, Cheyenne Howard,  Ang Jia Yu, Eunice Cheng

Sembawang Roster
Yuan Huey, Mastura, Natisha, Natasha, Yi Xin, Aqilah, Kajal, Syahirah, Umi, Anamika, Syamsiah

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