East Fremantle Sharks held off a massive challenge from the Rangers, keeping in touch with top spot with a 48-44 win in the Gold Round of the Gold Industry Group West Australian Netball League.
So far this season, the Sharks and the Rangers have been among the better defensive sides of the competition, and it showed in the first quarter as scoring was low and pressure was high.
Led by centres Courtney Kruta for the Sharks and Kate Bunten for the Rangers, both sides were highly focussed on their intercept game as they tried desperately to get momentum going. Neither could, but after taking a slim 12-11 lead into the second quarter, the Rangers broke out their set plays and the Sharks had no immediate answer.
Sharks goal shooter Larissa Harrison was left stranded as Rangers pressure led to a number of turnovers from passes heading her way, which ended up as goals at the other end.
However, the Rangers were left to rue a missed offside call in the final moments of halftime, allowing the Sharks to pull themselves back to within three goals of the 25-22 score.
The arm-wrestle continued in the second half, with only two key plays proving to be the eventual difference between the two sides, which the Rangers will hope to learn from. An early blitz in the third quarter saw the Sharks hit the lead at the five-minute mark, a lead they took into the final break at 37-35 as the stalemate returned.
The Rangers tied up again three minutes into the fourth, but the Sharks were not to be denied, shooting five goals ahead in just a couple of minutes midway through the quarter through Kruta’s tireless running, a lead they held to the end in the 48-44 win.
