EMERALDS MATCH REPORTS
08/02/12
Emeralds met league leaders Millfield in a midweek match. Emeralds struggled against the young team, who are currently top of the division. The final score was 69 - 10, with Emily Hoare voted player of the match.
28/01/12
Emeralds played Robins at Bruton, starting well with steady play to take a 12 – 5 lead. Despite strong defending from Emily Hoare and Trudy McDowell, Robins fought back strongly but Emeralds continued to hold the lead 18 – 12 at half time. A level third quarter for both teams, saw steady shooting from Roxy McDowell and Lynne Cornish, under great pressure from Robins’ defenders. The final quarter was won by Robins, but Emeralds had gained a good lead earlier in the game, which they worked hard to hold onto, to win the game 34 – 31. Emily Hoare was voted player of the game
21/01/12
Emeralds met Knaves from Tor in the KO Cup quarter final today. A steady start for Emeralds as they took a small lead 8 – 6 at the end of the first quarter. Knaves fought back, with good interceptions of some wayward passes from Emeralds and at half time, Emeralds were behind 15 – 13. During the third quarter, Emily Hoare was replaced by Sandra Fry following injury, and the team worked hard to close the gap which had increased to 5 Sandy Hocking and Fry worked well in the circle, forcing Knaves shooters to make errors. Their pick ups were moved forward down the court well by player of the match Mikki Hole at Centre, working well with Kerry Clark and Michelle Martin. Great shooting from Roxy McDowell and Lynne Cornish brought Emeralds to the end of the quarter just one goal behind. A frantic final quarter saw Knaves increase the pace just enough to extend their lead to win 39 – 35.
14/01/12
Emeralds met Hendford from Yeovil for the second time this season. Knowing it was going to be a hard game Emeralds went all out. In the first quarter it was evenly matched from both teams with interceptions and errors. Centre Court players Sammie Brown, Michelle Martin and Kerry Clarke kept the game steady and Emeralds managed to keep Hendford at bay taking a 7 – 5 lead. But during the second quarter, the roles reversed despite strong defending from Sandy Hocking and Emily Hoare. Hendford forced Emeralds to make errors and took the lead 14 – 11 at half time. With some changes in the second half Emeralds held strong. Although passing occasionally let them down, the team continued to fight hard to regain possession. Katie Dennison made her partner fight for all the passes, but Hendford continued to extend their lead to 23 – 18. Player of the match, Roxy McDowell was having an excellent game, finding great spaces and working hard around the circle. Her shooting was very accurate and she linked well with partner Lynne Cornish which enabled Emeralds to close the gap. An unfortunate injury to Sammie Brown meant she had to be replaced during the final quarter, but Emeralds did not faulter and managed to close the gap, but it was not quite enough and Hendford won 31 - 28.
07/01/12
Emeralds played with a new line up against Minstrels from Timsbury, and took a little time to settle down, but with steady play, the first quarter score was close at 9 – 7 to Minstrels. Emeralds started to work together as a team and improved understanding of each other helped the passage of the ball into the shooting circle, however, Minstrels still held the lead 15 – 12 at half time. Emeralds continued to grow stronger during the third quarter, and with excellent passing from Mikki Hole and Sammie Brown into the shooters, their confidence grew as they edged ahead 21 – 19 at the end of the third quarter. This broke the confidence on the Minstrels players, who were pressured into errors throughout the quarter, particularly by defenders Sandy Hocking and Emily Hoare, who allowed their opponents to only score 4 goals in the quarter. Meanwhile, Kerry Clark linked well with the defenders, helping to move the ball positively to the attacking circle. With Lynne Cornish and Roxy McDowell finding their target, Emeralds extended their lead to win the game 34 – 23. Mikki Hole was voted player of the game.
17/12/11
Emeralds met Knaves from Glastonbury on Saturday, the game was very low scoring and evenly matched as the teams went into the second quarter. Emeralds slipped into a small lead during the second quarter with better interlinking play between Helen Martin and Roxy McDowell in the shooting circle. However, the game was still low scoring with Emeralds ahead 9 – 6 at half time. More positive play during the third quarter saw Emeralds extend their lead further, good court play from Sammie Brown, Mikki Hole and Steph Elkins, saw the ball move well down the court to find the shooters. During the final quarter, several well timed interceptions from Beth Fella and Lynne Cornish helped Emerald to a 25 – 14 win at the end of a hard game. Player of the match went to Beth Fella.
10/12/11
In the second meeting with Keinton Kestrels, Emeralds knew it was going to be a hard game. With players missing, Mille Burridge played her debut for Emeralds, linking well with Sandy Hocking but Keinton's shooters were on great form and didn’t miss. Emeralds brought the ball down the court well with Steph Elkins and Mikki Hole feeding well into Lynne Cornish who was also in good form, but Emeralds could not hold onto to their one goal lead. A change in the Emeralds defence was hoped to disrupt the Keinton shooters, but they were able to pull ahead, and whilst Emeralds fought hard to try and close the gap, they were not able to get close enough with Keinton winning 43 - 36. It was a good team effort from all with Roxy McDowell and Mikki Hole being players of the match and Sandy Hocking getting the umpire vote.
03/12/11
On 3rd December Emeralds met Bishops for the second time. Knowing it was going to be a hard match Emeralds went out with determination. With two players out Helen Martin and Addie Moran stepped into the breach. Emeralds fought hard the whole game with some excellent interceptions from the defence. Helen Martin linking well in attack and shooting consistently which enabled the first half to be quite close but Bishops managed to increase their lead in the second half. Emeralds played well but lost 37 - 26. Addie Moran being player of the match and umpires player.
30/11/11
Emeralds played Wasps in the first round of the KO cup and made a slow start, finding it difficult to find space in the shooting area. Wasps took advantage of this and were 8 – 2 ahead at the end of the first quarter. Emeralds fought back in the second quarter, with great tips and interceptions at both ends of the court, but particularly from Sandy Hocking (GK) and Addie Moran (GD). Emeralds ensured that the ball travelled safely into the circle, and with good accuracy found the net to take Emeralds to an 11 – 10 lead at half time. Both teams continued to play well during the second half, making good use of interceptions throughout, and Emeralds continued to extend their lead with excellent defending and mid court play from player of the match Sammie Brown. Emeralds proceed to the next round after winning the match 32 – 19.
16/11/11
Emeralds had a tough game against a strong young team from Millfield. Millfield held the lead early on, and were never in danger, however, they were put under strong pressure from Sandy Hocking at GK and Lynne Cornish at GD. Emeralds tried different combinations to try to thwart the young team, but were unable to close the gap. The score line did not reflect the possession that Emeralds had throughout the game, which Millfield won 43 – 9.
12/11/11
Emeralds played Wasps from Bridgwater YMCA in a closely fought game. Emeralds took a while to settle into their game, with Wasps taking a 12 – 10 lead. Emeralds improved their movement during the second quarter, and with good passing into the circle by Steph Elkins and Mikki Hole, Emeralds began to close the gap. Sammie Brown worked hard, making several well timed interceptions, and at half time, the teams were level at 22 all. With changes to Emeralds team during the second half, Emeralds tightened their defence when Lynne Cornish moved to GK and worked well with Kira Shapter. Helen Martin in her first game back after pregnancy, worked well with Clare Tottle at WA and Roxy McDowell at GA. With both teams playing well, Emeralds took a one goal leading as the teams moved into a close and exciting final quarter. With calm and steady play, and vital interceptions, Emeralds maintained their lead with excellent play from Kira Shapter until an ankle injury with just a couple of minutes to go took her off the court. Trudy McDowell replaced her, and for the final minutes, gave 100% to help Emeralds win the battle 39 – 35. Player of the match was Lynne Cornish.
05/11/11
Emeralds met Mars of Bridgwater NC in a local derby. The match started off slowly, but Emeralds were able to pull ahead after the first quarter 9 - 7. Some excellent passing down the Court with the centre court players linking well with Michelle Martin who was standing in at WA. Emeralds were able to extend their lead at half time to 20 – 14, thanks to calm and accurate shooting from Lynne Cornish and Adele Ranford - filling in at GA. Throughout the game Emeralds’ defence kept the Mars shooters fighting for the ball with excellent interceptions from Kira Shapter and Sandy Hocking. Mikki Hole and Sammie Brown were able to deflect many passes through the centre court, and kept the game steady. Both defensive and attacking circle players worked hard during the final quarter enabling Emeralds win the match, with the final score being 40 – 28. Player of the match was Kira Shapter, and the umpire vote went to Mikki Hole. It was a great team effort from all players for the whole game.
22/10/11
A frustrating game against Kingfishers from Keinton Mandeville for Emeralds, that started well with both teams playing playing the ball well. Shooters Lynne Cornish and Roxy McDowell were finding the net accurately, however, Kingfishers took the lead 12 – 9 at the end of the first quarter. An injury to Chelsie Coombes at GD, slowed Emeralds game a bit, and although she carried on, Kingfishers stretched the lead to 5 goals at half time. Emeralds passing during the second half let them down a bit, however, there was some excellent defending from player of the match Sammie Brown at WD and Mikki Hole at C. Despite this Kingfishers continued to pull away to a disappointing loss for Emeralds 30 – 49.
15/10/11
Emeralds also played at Wells against Bishops, but were unable to field their regular team. Sandra Fry filled in for her second match at GD, working well with Trudy McDowell, both players making their opponents work hard for their passes, but once the ball was in the Bishops shooters’ hands, they rarely missed their target. Emeralds continued to fight throughout the game with some great play by Tanisha Birch filling in at WD and then WA, and accurate shooting from Lynne Cornish and Roxy McDowell, but Bishops were always ahead, and won the game 65 – 22.
01/10/11
Emeralds game against Barons scheduled for today, was called off as Barons were unable to field a team. Points awarded to Emeralds.
17/09/11
Emeralds played Hendford from Yeovil for their first match of the season. With a new team Emeralds knew it was going to be hard. The team started well wih some good links between Steph Elkins at WA and Mikki Hole at C feeding well into the shooting circle. At the end of the first quarter Emeralds led 14 - 7. With changes to the Yeovil team, Emeralds had to rethink their game, and unfortunately Emeralds struggled to get the ball into the shooting circle during the second and third quarters. Emeralds Defence of Sandy Hocking and Kira Shapter worked really hard to keep the Yeovil shooters at bay, making many timely interceptions. Emeralds however lost the game, with the final score being 41 - 23. Player of the match was Sandy Hocking, and the umpire’s vote shared between Sandy Hocking and Kira Shapter.