Panton Hill 1 took one step closer to securing their spot in the finals of the 2022-23 NFNL senior summer netball Section 4 competition, after defeating top four rival Bundoora 6 by six goals at La Trobe Sports Stadium.
The scores were close throughout most of the match with the Redbacks only leading by three majors at three quarter time before an eight goal to five final term sealed the 32-26 victory.
It was Panton Hill’s third win in their last four Section 4 games, further distancing themselves from the rest of the pack and remaining in third spot as a result. Meanwhile Bundoora are still in fourth position, but their spot is beginning to look vulnerable with just three weeks to go in the regular season.
Section 4 leading goal shooter Alexandra Carlin used her height to her advantage on Friday night, scoring 28 of her side’s 32 goals, her highest goal tally in any game this season.
Redbacks goal attack Brooke Ryan also impressed, providing good spacing in the shooting circle and opening up opportunities for Carlin to convert her shots.
In what was a potential finals shaping match, it would be Panton Hill who got off to a bright start in the opening minutes of the first term, before the Bulls quickly caught up with their opposition to only trail by two goals at quarter time.
Bundoora then used their momentum created in the late stages of the first quarter to take control of the match in the second period. The Bulls defensive end played their best quarter, with Simone Creek and Samantha Lee producing quicker ball movement, all while forcing pressure on Panton Hill attacking players.
As a result, the Bulls won the quarter and only kept the Redbacks to five majors, but still trailed by two goals at half time.
Panton Hill picked up the pace in the third term with a 10 goal to eight quarter, nine of those majors coming from Carlin. Redbacks wing defence Elly Synan was the other standout for her side in the quarter, forcing multiple turnovers.
The momentum the Redbacks accumulated in the third term was quickly carried on into the final quarter as thanks to Carlin scoring another seven majors, Panton Hill turned their three goal three quarter time lead into a six-goal victory.
