Results from the UNISS Netball Tournament 2018 held in Mt Maunganui.

The Open ‘A’ netball team opened their UNISS 2018 campaign led by Anahia Noble, with the support of Libby Clayton and Briana Cardon, who was out recovering from ACL surgery. A four goal win (29-25) over Macleans College was followed by a 32-15 win against Auckland Girls’ Grammar School. These two wins cemented a top 16 place.

Day 2 SPC were up against a very physical and strong team from Aorere College, losing by 18-24. That evening, SPC played a fantastic game with St Kentigern College. The team rose to the occasion with slick movement, passing and defence. A loss by 16 goals wasn’t a true reflection on the game. The girls celebrated their performance as if they’d won it.

The following morning, another strong physical team from One Tree Hill College proved difficult (resulting in a loss 38-19), but with St Peter’s School to play in the afternoon, the team let these losses go and focused on the task ahead.

With a definite game plan and the team playing as one, they stuck to their own jobs, but could not get ahead of St Peter’s. However, momentum built and in the last minute SPC won by one goal! A nail-biting finish.

With a loss to Waikato Diocesan School for Girls, 26-20, the team were now in the 9th-12th seeding pool. The game against St Cuthbert’s College in the afternoon saw success, with as a result of positional change – a win 18-16 to SPC.

Trident High School was the team that SPC had beaten last year to make top six. This game was played at the same time, on the same day, with the same result as last year. A fantastic win to the Open ‘A’ girls 38-33.

The final game for 9th or 10th was a rematch with Aorere College. The defensive pairing of Libby Clayton and Katie Begbie, along with Priya Singh, had outstanding games. The team fought hard to the end, but couldn’t quite match the physicality, which resulted in a loss for SPC 23-28 to Aorere.

The final result – a highly enviable position of top 10 in the ‘A’ grade of UNISS 2018.