Montmorency 3 sealed their place in the 2022-23 NFNL senior summer netball Section 5 Grand Final after a dominant 19 goal victory over Kilmore 3 at La Trobe Sports Stadium.
The Magpies produced an impressive 14-2 goal first half and never looked back on their way to the 30-11 triumph. It was their second consecutive victory over Kilmore 3 in the Section 5 competition and they are one of four Montmorency sides to reach 2022-23 senior summer netball Grand Finals.
Jessica Kennealy was brilliant for the Magpies, producing 17 goals, while Amy Dillon (10) and Chloe McCormack (three) rounded out the scoring. Rebecca Gould, Cassandra Meadows and Cassandra Northrop all gave great defensive efforts throughout the match.
Marita White top scored for the Blues with six goals while Ella Hall was also solid for her side.
The Magpies were on song from the opening term, scoring three quick majors to start the match.
At the same time, Montmorency were able to apply strong defensive pressure in all areas of the court and used quick transition into attack to put their opponents on the back foot.
They would take a five-goal lead at quarter time and showed no signs of slowing down in the second term with another terrific display.
Goalkeeper Meadows was a brick wall in defence, whilst Montmorency centre Malaika Baya also stood out, winning the ball back on multiple occasions while feeding great balls to her attacking teammates.
Facing a 10-goal deficit at half time, Kilmore didn’t put their heads down and rallied to produce their best quarter of the match. The Blues scored five goals, their highest coring quarter of the game, while also keeping Montmorency to just six majors in the defensive end.
Kristy Fowler scored all three of her match goals in the third term while Taleah O’Brien proved to be a great link up player for the Blues throughout the quarter.
Kilmore still trailed by 11 goals as they approached the final term and despite their best efforts, Montmorency blitzed their way to a 10-goal quarter.
Six of those majors were courtesy of Kennealy, while the Magpies only allowed two goals against them for the third quarter of the match, to seal a Grand Final showdown with Thomastown 3 this Friday night.
