Unst 23 V Challengers 49

The game started quickly with Challengers winning the toss & making good use of it. Play was fast and there were lots of turnovers with Challengers’ Cara Montgomery making some brilliant interceptions and Ellie Sandison and Danielle Johnson turning them into goals. Unst kept fighting with Jade Stevenson and Anya Risk working hard to get the ball into their shooters but Unst couldn’t close the gap and the first quarter ended 5 – 9.

Both teams came back fighting with neither team making any changes. Naomi Brown and Shona Johnson worked hard for Unst, gaining interceptions and moving the ball up the court, giving Linda Thomson and Marie Robertson chances which they made the most of. The Challengers defenders never let up and some vital rebounds by Valerie Sales and Nicola Morrison – and solid play by the whole team – saw the ball back up the court and continued accurate shots from Sandison and Johnson saw Challengers increase their lead further taking the second quarter 14 – 22.

Unst made some changes, bringing on Karen Gray in defense who worked hard with Ailidh Risk to slow the steady flow of shots by Sandison but they had their work cut out and despite several interceptions in defense, Challengers’ Annie Mowat and Cara Montgomery turned around as many balls and worked tirelessly with Holly Jamieson to feed the ball into their shooters and the third quarter ended 18 – 35.

Despite the increasing gap, Unst kept their heads up and fought hard with Shona Johnson gaining possession in the defensive circle and pushing the ball up the court but consistent strong play from the Challengers and continued accurate shooting saw Challengers pull ahead further and win the game 23 – 49. Players of the match were Ellie Sandison for Challengers and Ailidh Risk for Unst.