Maties leads log in Varsity Sport netball tournament
Maties continued their winning streak in this year’s Varsity Sports Netball tournament benign played in a bio-bubble at the Coetzenburg indoor sports centre.
On Monday they continued thewir winning and up to now unbeaten streak by beating the Nelson Mandela University (Madibaz) 62-40 to remain at the top of the log.
The Maties never looked in trouble, stretching a 18-8 lead after the first quarter to 33-14 at half-time and 49-25 after the third quarter.
Maties stuck to the basics, which kept the scoreboard ticking over regularly. It was easy pickings for the Maties defenders, who were provided with several loose balls through poor placement by the Madibaz.
Over the weekend Maties convincingly beat University of the Western Cape (UWC) 64-32 in the Western Cape derby. The 2015 and 2019 finalists asserted their dominance from the first whistle and kept the pressure on their opponents, turning the ball in mid-court and back towards their own goal circle where captain Sian Moore kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Instead of coming out from behind the Matie defenders and sticking to short, sharp passes, UWC tried to move downcourt with long overhead passes. This was to no avail, with Maties keeping the lead after each quarter – 19-4 (first), 30-14 (second) and 47-24 (third).
On Monday Maties beat North West University (NWU) 71-60 to claim pole position on the log after the Varsity Netball Round 3 matches concluded on Monday.
For the first three quarters of the match between the tournament hosts and NWU, it looked like it could go either way, despite Maties leading at the end of each (15-14, 30-27 and 45-44).
NWU went into the match as slight favourites, having won five of their Varsity Netball encounters against Maties since 2013, including the 2015 final. However, Maties did play in the 2019 final against Tuks and undoubtedly backed themselves to cause a minor upset on day three of the 2021 tournament.
Both NWU and Maties saved their Power Plays for the last six minutes of the match. The Potchefstroom-based team took theirs first when leading by a single goal (55-54), clearly hoping to increase their advantage with the final whistle looming. But it was Maties who completely dominated both two-minute periods, scoring six goals for 12 points, while NWU had to settle for a single goal and two points.
The victory wasn’t perfect, but the team from Stellenbosch put in a solid performance both on attack and defence. They stayed focused for the full 60 minutes and kept hassling their opponents.
Santiche Kabuya had a stellar match on defence, never taking her eyes off the NWU shooters. At the other end of the court, Nicholé Taljaard was on point for Maties with a goal shooting accuracy of 89% and was deservedly named as the FNB Player of the Match.
While Maties remained patient and limited mistakes by making sure their offloads were solid and driving the ball with speed, NWU coach Elsunet du Plessis was left with her head in her hands by the numerous missteps (literally) of her team. She also couldn’t have been happy about the high penalty count with several cautions dished out by the umpires. However, shooter Elmere van der Berg remained a standout player for NWU and the other teams should take note of her ability to own the goal circle.
Maties will be sweating on the fitness of wing defence Danielle van Nieuwenhuizen, who went down with what seemed to be a serious ankle injury in the third quarter and grimaced as she left the court. Maties assistant coach Adele Niemand said she was pleased that the team executed their game plan to attack from the start. Regarding Van Niewenhuizen’s injury, Niemand said they will take things as they come but that the team has depth.
Yesterday Tuks beat University of Johannesburg (UJ) 66-39 in their Varsity Netball clash while there were also Round 5 wins for North West University (NWU), University of the Free State (Kovsies) and Stellenbosch University (Maties).
Round 5 results:
Tuks 66 – 39 UJ
FNB Player of the Match: Alice Kennon (Tuks)
NWU Eagles 69 – 40 TUT
FNB Player of the Match: Elmere van der Berg (NWU Eagles)
UWC 29 – 91 Kovsies
FNB Player of the Match: Bianca de Wee (Kovsies)
Maties 62 – 40 Madibaz
FNB Player of the Match: Syntiche Kabuya (Maties)
