AshColl 29-22 victory against Rangi Ruru Girls’ School at the EA Networks Centre on Wednesday. Photo Jaime Pitt-MacKayAfter dominating the early passages, the Ashburton College netball team cruised to 29-22 victory against Rangi Ruru Girls’ School in the SuperNet competition at the EA Networks Centre on Wednesday evening.

“I was really happy, I thought we played confidently and we kept control of the game throughout,” said coach Angela Mitchell.

The Ash Coll side jumped out of the gates, scoring five unanswered goals and generally dominated the first quarter, ending it with an 11-3 lead.

“We know what it is like having to turn up, get out of the van and hit the court,” said Mitchell.

“It took them a quarter to get going and we made the most of that.”

Rangi Ruru took the initiative in the second quarter, closing Ash Coll’s lead to four points with a half-time score of 16-12.

“Defensively they really challenged what we did in the first quarter, and I just don’t think we reacted to that change quickly enough,” she said.

“Something we continue to work on is how we react to different situations and different styles of defence.”

Mitchell said she was pleased with how her team controlled the speed in the second half of the match, always keeping Rangi Ruru at arm’s length until the final whistle.

One of the many standout performers for the College side was goal shoot Grace Wilson, who tormented the Rangi defenders all night long.

“We’ve tried in the past week or so to look in to Grace early and she is a really great target for us, and she has been finding great space for herself,” said Mitchell.

“She dominated, asked for the ball and did a great job, it was great shooting.”

Mitchell said she was most proud however of the team performance in general.

“It is great to be able to put nine girls out there in different combinations and you know they will all at least play half a game,” she said.

“We do have a well-rounded team this year and that is exciting for us as we head in to the South Island tournament.”

Being the first home SuperNet game in Mitchell’s time coaching the College side, she said having the crowd support was great.

“We are really appreciative of Mid Canterbury Netball allowing us to host the game in Ashburton, it was great for the College staff and the girls’ families to be able to watch SuperNet here,” she said.

By Jaime Pitt-MacKay © The Ashburton Guardian - 23 June 2017