The U13s City Netball Tournament was hosted by Trinity School yesterday afternoon when secondary schools from Carlisle competed against each other in the cold wind to earn the title of City Champions. Opposition teams included Newman, RR Central Academy, RR Morton Academy, Caldew, Trinity and Austin Friars. Both William Howard School U13s teams entered and they did not disappoint. Due to the number of teams entered into the tournament, the courts were split into leagues.
Miss Carruthers reports:
WHS 1
WHS 1 played their first match against Newman school; the girls were motivated and knew they had a good chance of winning this game. Some brilliant shooting and movement centre court ensured that the ball was pretty much in WHS attacking end for most of the game. The first victory came WHS 11 – Newman 0.
Their second game was against Trinity. The girls were in good spirits and feeling confident following their previous win. Going straight into the next game was an advantage; they were well rehearsed in their set moves and were moving onto the ball well, going from strength to strength. It was another well-deserved victory for WHS, WHS 8 – Trinity 1.
In the next game we came up against Austin Friars. This was expected to be a closer match – historically matches against Friars have been but the girls were consistent in their play, supporting each other and backing each other up. They knew if they won this match that they would be through to the final. Their confidence grew as we scored in the first two minutes. From then on it was ours for the taking, WHS 6 – Austin Friars 2.
So, there we were in the final of the City Cup, up against Caldew. Both teams have met previously in two friendly league games, one we lost and one we drew, so it was going to be close. The girls were on top form, the best I have seen them play this season, everything just came together when we needed it to. Our defence played well, limiting opportunities for Caldew to shoot. Our C court play was phenomenal delivering the ball to our shooters who played superb. Final Score WHS 4 – Caldew 0
WHS 1 became CITY CHAMPIONS!
Players of the Tournament: Ava Stainton (Captain) and Paloma O’Connor
Congratulations to the team players: Ellen Starkey, Ava Stainton, Tilly Broome, Paloma O’Connor, Olivia Robinson, Janie McAulay, Thea Hansell, Jessica M.
WHS 2
The WHS 2 team are going from strength to strength and they demonstrated in the tournament.
The girls played really well and battled against some good teams in the league that they were drawn. In their first game, they were against Caldew who went on to play WHS in the final, we knew this game was going to be difficult and perhaps not one the girls wanted first. There was some brilliant movement in the middle of the court but the defence had to work hard against Caldew attack. We struggled to clear the ball and some good interceptions by Caldew meant we were on the back foot for much of the first half. WHS 0 – Caldew 9.
Despite the first game loss, the team were still looking forward to the next match. Next up was RRCA. We weren’t sure what to expect as we hadn’t played the team in any league games before. At half time, the girls were 1-0 down. A half time talk and a swap of positions and we settled straight into the second half moving the ball well and just focusing on delivering a safe pass. The girls knew they had the potential to win this match and did so, WHS 4 – RRCA 1.
Next up was Trinity. This was a tough match for the team but they were beginning to work together and improved communication meant that several players were not all going for the same ball allowing us to create better space. This game, I believe, could have gone either way but unfortunately it wasn’t our day, WHS 2 – Trinity 4.
The final game was also against Trinity’s second team. Again, this game was up for the taking. Some of our players were beginning to tire by this point and our movement on the court was a bit slower in sections. Again, there were some great opportunities and the girls played really well, final score, Trinity 3 – WHS 1.
Tournament Players: Mia Ridley and Esme Bell
Team players: Mia Kelly, Eva Watt, Sadie Noman Thorpe, Esme Bell, Gabrielle Barker, Mia Ridley, Lola Crouch, Georgia Davies