Wickepin 1 strengthened their finals aspirations with a hard-fought 50-46 victory over Wagin 1 in a thrilling A-grade clash in the Narrogin and Districts Netball Association’s Great Southern Fuel round.
With Wagin sitting third and Wickepin fourth on the ladder, both teams knew the result of Friday’s game could have a significant bearing on their finals campaigns.
Despite being undermanned, both sides called on talented young players and impressive imports from other associations to field competitive line-ups.
The opening quarter was a tight, goal-for-goal battle.
Wickepin import Emma Smith fitted seamlessly into the A-grade competition, and was strong at goal shooter, while Wagin’s shooting combination of Lilli Worth and Kaya-Lee Te Kapa created plenty of headaches for the Wickepin defence.
Wickepin edged ahead by the narrowest of margins at quarter-time before Wagin came out firing in the second term, with defenders Faith McNab and Tracey-Lee Kingi beginning to dominate.
Wickepin struggled to connect through the mid-court and Wagin took a seven-goal lead into half-time.
A tactical change sparked Wickepin after the break, with Smith moved to goal attack to add strength and direction to the attacking drives.
She combined beautifully with wing attack Lily Bone as Wickepin steadily clawed their way back into the contest.
At the other end, Isabella Budby and Helen Wyatt were outstanding again, repeatedly creating opportunities for their attackers to capitalise on.
Sixteen-year-old footballing prodigy Bailee Pike, fresh from a strong season with South Fremantle’s Rogers Cup team, proved equally impactful at wing defence in the final term.
Her timely interceptions helped Wickepin seize control and push the result out to a four-goal win.
Best players went to Wynta Kapene from Wagin and Helen Wyatt and Isabella Budby from Wickepin.
In the other A-grade games in the Great Southern Fuel round, Williams 1 and Cuballing 1 further strengthened their positions to finish in the top two, with Williams having a convincing win against Olympics Gold 63-31.
Best players were awarded to Sienna McDonald, Bella Logie and Sophie Beasley from Williams, and Tanya Hart and Liana Hancock from Olympics.
Cuballing dominated Flames 75-22, with best players going to Regina Kickett, Jayeisha Ford and Mia Slawinski from Cuballing, and Bella Callope from Flames 1.
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