NESS 42 -39 AHS

A well-fought game that saw Ness take the first quarter through some excellent work in the circle by Estella Smith and Tahlia Leslie. The sharpness of AHS in defence across the court made it difficult for the Ness team but some tight passing kept them ahead going into the second. The second quarter saw Ness extend their lead as they kept the game to their pace, with some valuable turnovers midcourt converted by the shooting pair.

Changes in the second half saw AHS pull the lead back and come within two – their tireless press earning them some good turnover ball, and key changes in the circle seeing their conversion rate go up – the rattled Ness team responded with some sloppy passing giving AHS a further foot up going into the final quarter.

Ness started well and seemed to be back into their run of play taking the first few scores, but things quickly switched ends as the AHS midcourt worked well to give their shooters more to play with, coming within a point of the draw. Some hard work by Aimee Budge in the Centre, and tireless defence by Ailish Parham steadied the ship – with the shooters converting well under pressure Ness ran out winners with a 3 point lead. AHS contested well, with particularly strong performances from Kirsty in the mid court, and the defensive pairing of Ava and Astri, with Jodie Walterson taking POM for AHS, and Ailish Parham named for Ness.