Taunton School’s U16 netball team have been crowned county champions after winning against Millfield, King’s College and Wellington at the English School Netball Tournament. The U14 team placed 3rd in the county in their age group.
Read the full match report below:
In spite of the fact that only four teams had entered the U16 County Tournament, we anticipated that every match would be difficult. For our first match we were drawn against Millfield and knew this was likely to be the biggest challenge of all. There was a lot of nervous energy as the team took the court but Taunton made a strong start to the game turning over and scoring from Millfield’s first centre. Millfield’s circle defence were undoubtedly the strongest part of their team and Charlotte Nelson, as Goal Shooter and Brooke Oliver Whittaker, as Goal Attack had to work extremely hard to find space in the circle. By half time, Taunton School were up 3 goals to 1 and the girls knew that they had to keep their heads if they were going to win. In the second half, Elle Marsden did a fantastic job of marking her player out of the game and Zara Pitman made interception after interception. Throughout the game, every ball was closely contested but Taunton remained strong and narrowly won most of these contests. The final score Taunton School 9 – Millfield 5.
In the second game, Taunton faced an experienced team from King’s College, however they were no match for Taunton, who, with some excellent shooting from Amelia Mukamitali were able to pull ahead with ease. At the defensive end, both Olivia Hopper and Lucy Gliddon did an excellent job of marking tightly and remaining disciplined at all times. The game finished Taunton 16 – King’s 3.
The final game was against Wellington School. The team knew that there were some strong individual players who could test them but once again they started strongly disrupting every phase of Wellington’s play whilst also doing a great job of keeping possession. Zoe Maynard was a stand out player in this game: her opposition struggled to keep up with her ability to dodge and sprint and she delivered some superb balls into the circle. By half time, Taunton were in the lead 10 – 0 and they continued in this vein winning 20-3. A special mention must go to the Captain, Bella Wells; her work rate and hunger for the ball throughout every match was admirable, as was her discipline on the court. The team are well-deserved winners of the title of U16 County Champions and look forward to representing Taunton School at the Regional tournament in January.
Mrs White (U16 Coach)
The U14’s had a tough draw, playing all six games in a row, however, they have been training hard and improving well. First up was against a very strong MIllfield side. They girls played their own game and didn’t allow their heads to drop despite the loss and they went in to the next game against King’s College positively. This was a close game with the lead changing hands a number of times. Some excellent defending from Orla Fisher against some tall shooters helped up to a 7-7 draw. Next up was Wells Cathedral School, the girls started strongly, playing confident netball and took their first win 8-4. Next was another tough game against King’s Bruton, the girls had found some confidence and continued playing some nice netball, however, time went against them and they finished the game 4-5 down. The girls, however, now knew they could play well and started strongly against a very tall Wellington team. Some great shooting from all the shooters helped us to a 10-4 victory. The girls were on a high leading in to the final game against Queen’s College. Queen’s started strongly and were winning by 3 at half time, however, the Taunton girls stayed focussed and determined and pulled ahead in the second half winning the game 6-5. This meant that they finished 3rd in Somerset, a great result for a group of girls who have worked extremely hard to improve their game.
Miss Manley (U14 Coach)
Categories: News Senior Sixth Form
