WITHAM NETBALL TEAMS ENJOY MUCH SUCCESS!

Senior Netball v Oundle:

Witham U13A wins 17-8

Witham knew they would have a hard game against Oundle U13A’s.  They were a strong, tall team, with some very competitive players.  The girls started off the game steady, with a change of plan in defence; Orianna Simmonds backing up at GK against a very tall Oundle GS and Bella Cox at GD.  It took time for the team to settle down, but with some calm passing and steady shots at goal, the girls picked up their game and the flow of the Witham game started to show.  At quarter time the score was close; Witham 3, Oundle 1, with a few missed shots from Oundle.  Witham’s ‘want’ for the ball and eagerness to ‘win’ the ball was evident, with some excellent defence from the three at the back; Orianna Simmonds, Bella Cox and Tara Lloyd.  The mid court flow started to shine and Witham were soon taking the lead convincingly. At half time, the score was Witham 8, Oundle 5, still very close!   At half time, there were a few changes with Saskia Norton changing from the attack to defence and Lilla Powell joining Rhianne price, Emily Grace and Eliza Bradbeer again in the attacking third.  Flair and fast play started to develop in the Witham play and the girls pulled together to test the Oundle players.  The third and fourth quarter saw new combinations and enabled players to learn new positions and watch the game, ready for future training and tournaments.  The final score was Witham 17, Oundle 8.  A great game against very strong opposition and good experience throughout.  Well done to all girls.  Thank you to our sideline supporters, who came to watch the girls on an extremely chilly afternoon! 

Witham U13B wins 7-4

It was a very cold afternoon but all the girls came to Oundle suitably dressed and didn’t complain too much during their warm up!  The Witham B team played the first half of their match against Oundle’s B team and the second half against Oundle’s C team. The first quarter got off to rather a slow start, not helped by the cold, but the girls gradually found their feet and the score was 1-1 at quarter time. Rosie Beddows, who has excellent stamina, was quick and accurate throughout and, now that she has managed to ‘sort out’ her foot work, played a much more fluent and assured game. Issy Irvine, an increasingly confident player, seemed to enjoy her spell at Wing Attack and contributed well to the centre third play.  At half time the score was 3-1 to Oundle, but it was clear that Witham could win the match if they put their minds to it. Abbey Lloyd and Immy Lee played very well in defence and managed to stop the Oundle girls from scoring at all during the third quarter and by three quarter time the score was 3 goals each. Witham definitely had victory within their grasp! Amy Bankhurst rotated through three different attacking positions and played her absolute best. Amy became so involved in her netball that she forgot to complain about the cold! Olivia Pepper and Emma Thompson managed to work through a ‘quiet' patch in the middle of the game and scored four excellent goals in the last quarter, bringing the final score 7 goals to 4. Frankie Gates was an excellent Captain throughout, leading the team by a great example of well-mannered but determined play. Congratulations to all the girls for their team spirit and positive attitudes!

Witham U11s v Stamford Junior School and Laxton

Witham U11A wins 7-4 v Laxton

Witham U11A wins 13-0 v Stamford

It was a sunny but bitingly cold afternoon but we kept warm with shrewd decisions that kept us inside unless the opposition was actually ready on court for us to play! With brisk and energetic warm ups and dynamic play the girls kept warm and produced some of their best netball of the term. Player of today’s two matches was undoubtedly Sophie Burnett who was just so active on her feet that she had the opposition chasing her to keep up all afternoon. However, all the girls did well to battle against Laxton who had some tall, feisty players both ends. The competition was not so strong against Stamford and the girls rather ran away with the game. Once again there were some superb interceptions in both games from Ella Johnsrud, Isabella Simmonds and Electra Winter. Overall our shooting accuracy still needs improvement, with more goals missing than going in!

Witham U11B wins 7-1 v Laxton U10A

Witham U11B wins 14-0 v Stamford

The fixture on this Wednesday afternoon is a tale of two parts with two matches to play at Stamford Junior School. Witham were up against Laxton in the first match. After two loses in a row and up against what seemed to be a strong side the girls came out fighting. It wasn’t long into the 1st half when Georgia Williams scored the first goal of the day for the under 11B’s and then Annabel Tollemache scored a goal to add to two more from Georgia. However Laxton came back with their first goal also in the first half. The shooters then switched positions and Hattie Grace came on to score 2 goals in the second half. Witham won their first match 7-1. Georgia scored 4 goals, Hattie 2 and Annabel 1.

After this first win the under 11Bs really came into form and the goals just didn’t stop. Hattie and Georgia worked tremendously together, knowing where each other would be, and their passing was accurate each time. Issy Hobbs worked well all over the court keeping the game fast paced and defending and attacking to support her whole team.

Hattie and Georgia were unstoppable in the second match and scored goals whenever they had a chance. Congratulations to Hattie on her 8 goals and Georgia on her 6 – it was a terrific shooting match. Excellent work and effort from the entire team.

Witham U11C loses 0-11 v Laxton U11B

Witham U11C wins 5-2 v Stamford U11C

Against Laxton, the girls were not equipped for competing against a team of such strength and size, each player was a head taller than each Witham girl! However, the team tried to keep tight defence to strengthen their performance in the match. Poppy Chatterton had good man-to-man defence against Laxton’s centre, whilst Maria Morris and Chica Maitland proved their good dodging skills. Impressive leads in the centre third by Sophie Smith gave us a feel of the ball. With more practice, further into the season, the girls will become quicker on their feet, therefore able to get in front of taller opponents, ideally stealing the ball. Despite the accumulative scoring by Laxton, the girls had positive attitudes towards the game and did not give up. Leonie Fraser had a go at GS, Clo Farmer played GA, Catherine Swanston played GD and Sophie Wass played GK.

Witham came back on top against Stamford with strong ball movement down the court towards our circle. Tight defence, along with accurate and quick passing into our D continued to increase our score. Annabel Tollemach joined us, playing GA, and her impressive leads and snatches kept us in front. Poppy Chatterton played C, Clo Farmer played a great GS - shooting 4 of the 5 goals, Sophie Smith played WA, Maria Morris and Chica Maitland rotated at WD, Leonie Fraser played GD and Sophie Wass played GK.

Well done girls!