Hartpury Netball Junior 1st beat Hereford 1st in BCS Cup

After a long Christmas break from competition and just friendly games to keep the team going, this Cup game was bound to be interesting. Training had been quiet due to A-Level exams and players revising hard. The game would test the teams’ ability to refocus and find the groove again under pressure.

The first quarter saw Milly Price in at GS; still finding her form since her injury but once she found her flow, the goals started to fall in easily. Beth Dudden started again at WA; she showed determination, and found her timing and movements much quicker than previous performances. Beth received passes from National Excel player Lauren Brooks with ease. Brooks owned the centre court as usual and worked the ball into the circle with speed and accuracy. Katie Hobbs at WD read her players movements well applying pressure and tipping the ball away. The first quarter score was Hartpury’s at 17-6.

In the previous game where these two sides met, the 2^nd quarter was Hartpury’s worst; their aim was to improve on this. Lydia Hallbrook scored a 100% accuracy quarter, making 9/9 shots. She also earned rebounds and an interception, despite the fantastic stats, Hallbrook was to beat this later in the game. The opposition’s GA and GS started to work the ball around more, enabling the defensive duo of Alix Matthews and Sophie Masterson gaining many interceptions, forcing Hereford to make errors. The time and hard work put in to training was showing in this quarter, with the pair gaining the most interceptions in one quarter out of both teams combined. Hartpury won the quarter 16-8, making the half time score 33-14. This was definitely a tighter performance.

Half time saw Price move out at GA and Hallbrook at GS. After a solid half game, Dudden came off with Steph Dunning taking the WD bib and Hobbs making her competition debut at WA. Hobbs has been working in the attacking half of the court much more since Christmas and she is developing in to a fast and confident player. The 3^rd quarter gave Hartpury more speed in the attacking end. Despite a long spell out of GA, Price fed the ball effortlessly and saw Hallbrook double the number of attempts on goal than the previous quarter. Brooks and Hobbs provided great options for one another and Dunning started on court strong and fiery. End of quarter 52-25.

The team didn’t stop there. They aimed for 70 goals and focused on intelligent play and keeping the effort level at 90-100%. Hallbrook scored her 2^nd quarter of the game at 100% accuracy making 14/14. It is this focus and skill which makes her one of the best shooters the college has had. Price’s accuracy increased, scoring 6/10 and moving the ball around the goal circle with ease. Another strong quarter from the defence saw the opposition score a total of 3 goals in the entire 15mins. Pressure defence from Brooks, Dunning, Matthews and Masterson ensured interceptions and Hereford’s error count increase. Masterson came out on to court at GD with Matthews covering the circle in GK. With a fantastic team effort, great communication and undeniable determination, the girls in red and black achieved their goal with ease; final score 72-28.

Hartpury progress through to round five of the BCS Cup with ease and confidence.

Player of the Match: Captain Lydia Hallbrook. With an accuracy of 84%, 2 x 100% quarters and a total of 47 goals from 56. Hallbrook played with flair, intelligence and consistency for the complete 60 minutes.