Queens vs Redditch pearls 34-31

Game started well with a strong first two quarters. Queens defence were able to intercept and turn over possession reading the oppositions moves well. Sophie as a WA had great feeds into the circle utilising the low balls practiced in this weeks training, which worked well against the tall defenders. Frankie and Ame working well as GA and GS, constantly moving and reworking the ball not rushing or giving into defensive pressure allowing us to start with high scores. As a team we worked together keeping the game slow and controlled to maintain possession (and trying to stay upright on slippy grounds).

Despite high efforts, lack of subs, tired legs (and a few falls) got the better of us allowing the other team to catch up. Despite a loss in score, as a team we should not be disheartened as we still showed great technical skill and teamwork.

Working on maintaining energy and driving to create space will hopefully give us the edge to come back stronger at the next match.

Written by Fran – Player

This week it was a tough match against Blackbird Divas. With mostly wins under our belts for the past few seasons we went into the match rather comfortable despite deep down knowing this may well be a challenge.
We started off very strong, putting pressure on Blackbirds and leading in the first quarter. However, unfortunately, we couldn’t keep this pace up and quickly Blackbirds got momentum and our lead had gone. We kept it fairly close for a while and fought hard but in the third quarter our positive mindset and energy dropped, and before we knew it they had a comfortable lead. The final score was 47-27 to Blackbird Divas. We put up a good fight and played some great netball, but also have come away with knowing what we need to work on to get stronger as a team.
Well played all and particularly to Katie Brown for getting captains player!

Written by Rose – Player

Hearts vs CBH
Score: 50 – 40

Sorry for the delay – better late than never!

Hearts match was a wet one from start to finish, so our first win was not getting injured on the slippery courts (despite Shan’s best ice skating efforts! ⛸)

With the court and ball slippery, Molly’s pre-game pep talk encouraged us to play a controlled steady game, with limited overheads (unless they were on, which of course some were – can’t resist a Nat special if it’s on!). The wet weather lead to some really strategic play throughout the court. 🌧

The shooters did really well to change direction and stand their ground without slipping over. The opposition commented throughout the game on Molly’s great hold and meeting the ball when those overs did inevitably come. Jodie created much needed space in the D, and both worked really well together with some smashing shooting.

Shan didn’t get the memo to take it easy – she was on another level (thankfully not on the floor! 😂); she bought the energy and was awarded a well-earned player of the match. Both her, and Sarah at C, had some great feeds into the D and worked really well with the shooters, always there when needed but not getting in the way. Sarah’s fitness, as usual, never faltered!

Kate was a strong yet steadying presence in WD, supporting for an attacking reset if needed, swooping in for some fabulous interceptions, and always being in perfect position for a defensive backline.

Our guest star this week was Edie, who played a fantastic 1/2 game as GD. It’s always a pleasure playing with Edie, she’s a super strong circle defender and slots right into the team. She reads the game excellently, and it felt like a lovely partnership – we did a few sneaky ‘switches’ which resulted in some turnovers. 🥳

Finally, shout out to Nat for playing GD in the second ½, which just goes to show how versatile our team is! It was really enjoyable having her orchestrate the game from the defensive end; blocking the GA out of the circle, calling directions on the zone, ‘switching’ in the D, plus we got some nice turn overs that capitalized on. 🎉

Overall, I think our fitness, fab teamwork, communication, and encouraging attitude are some of our greatest strengths, and these gave us the edge to adapt to the rainy conditions better than the opposition. Go team! 💪🏼

Written by Katia – Player

Aces took on BDR.
We went into the match anticipating a tough battle as often BDR have the ability to get under our skin and not let us play our usual game.
However, we got off to a great start; flowing the ball down the court and popping it into Chloe Evans who was holding her space beautifully. Before we knew it we had a brilliant lead and hoped to sit comfortably for the win.
But unfortunately after the first quarter they re-set and as anticipated, they flipped the momentum and had us running around them. Gradually they pulled back the lead and eventually took the lead in the third quarter. We utilised some tactical changes and went into the final quarter just one goal down. With some final changes of position we went into the final quarter positive, knowing we just had to play our game as we did in the final quarter. And amazing, we did just that. We got our momentum back, keeping possession on our centre passes and some fantastic turnovers on theirs by Leah Wood and Katie Brown. As a result the score was 49 to 42 to us at the final whistle. A huge thankyou so Millie Byrne for playing up – you really wouldn’t have known you’re not in our squad!! And a very well deserved captains player to Chloe.

Written by Rose – Player

Woohoo!!! What a game 😃 okay so we lost, but hey, it was worth the rain and the slippery balls just to have Leanne as GS AND get player!!!! @⁨Leanne Hudson⁩ you were amazing. Thank you so much for rearranging your plans today for us, we couldn’t have done it without you ❤️
To everyone else, you were incredible! Mary you are mental! Nothing phases you when it comes to defending and how you stay on two feet is something to behold!

To work on at training is driving forward for the ball and not being too static; tricky in wet conditions. Also to always keep our eye on the ball/game. We lost few where we had intercepted but wasn’t watching the ball to pick it up.

Well done everyone! We will smash them on the reverse fixture- nasty vixens!

Final score 39-30 to Vixens

Written by Lorraine – Captain

👑 Queens 28-29 Redditch Rubies 🛑
A very strong Queens squad took to the court this morning in some cold, misty weather and were ahead the whole game until the very final couple of minutes 🥹😩

Every player played their strongest game and worked seamlessly as a team; patient play gave us a lead of 13-7 in the first quarter and this continued throughout with very sparse moments of panic and waiting for the right person in the right space before letting the ball go 🧘‍♀️ Queens really deserved the win so it was a little heart wrenching to watch it just slip away in the last moment, but equally, this was the strongest Queens have played, and we are taking away some really positive points (being patient with the ball, patience against a very physical team, always backing each other up, lots of forced errors and no moments of panic!)

As always, everyone played their own position on court to a T – defence saw Luc, Beth, Fran and Stace take flying intercepts and rebounds from post to convert into goals for Queens. Defence master Stacey played a few roles (GD, WA and WD) and executed all of them with ease 😍

Attack worked equally brilliantly with Ximena, Frankie and Amy slotting in extremely well together and using the opposition’s height to our advantage by dropping the ball into the circle successfully multiple times, which led us to getting a good lead in the first half, and when Redditch took their defence up a notch in the second half, all the girls stayed calm and collected and played the ball around beautifully. Our centre Katie linked the attack and defence fantastically!

Some things for us to take away from this; how successful our patient play was and dropping the ball into the circle, and this translates to playing the game that’s in front of us and knowing and executing what is working well on the day. Next steps for Queens are to learn and practice the stages of defence across the whole court and use this in matches! 💖

The biggest shout out of all goes to our newest teammate, Fran, (who shall now be known as “Tigger”!) who played her first match with Queens and was awarded POM – absolutely well deserved for tireless defence, forcing numerous errors for the opposition and those absolute springs in her shoes! 👏🏼 👑

Written by Frankie – Captain

A great game 44-37! Even with the tricky stop-starts from the umpires, we all kept our composure and adapted well. We came out on top and showed just how strong this team is. Onto the next game, where we can smash it once again!

Written by Libby – Player

Aces 35 CBH 27
Aces won against a very physical CBH team, keeping their cool and playing a short-passing, steady game throughout.

Within the first 5 minutes of the 1st quarter Aces took the lead by 4 goals and maintained that lead throughout the rest of the match.

As we settled into the game, we quickly realised we were in for quite a physical match, with lots of contesting for the ball.

As we went into the second quarter, CBH decided to turn up the ‘chaos’ element of their play – they were dropping off their player to semi zone the space but were not organised so instead were just very disruptive which to be fair did work in putting us off slightly.

Towards the end of the second quarter and as we headed into the third we realised that we could take advantage of this disorganisation and play a short ball game, focusing on possession and sharp shooting. Instead of moving the ball quickly to goal we took our time, keeping hold of it, moving it around and choosing the right attacking pass when we were ready.

This tired CBH out pretty well and meant that in the final quarter we had loads of space through court to build play and maintain possession again.

Defencive pressure was once again a key feature of our match play today – the shooters struggled to get in decent shooting positions as well as struggling to work the ball round the D. Leah, Edie, Katie and Grace C worked well as a team to apply the pressure, secure the turnover and move the ball through court.

Timing of movement and quality of passing through court into attack was lovely to watch – Rose and Eliza supporting the defensive team bringing the ball through.

As we headed into attack we focused on rotation both in and out of the D. With Katie moonlighting as WA as well it meant our play had depth through court and allowed for space for the shooters to move around in.

Captains player went to Edie who was fantastic in the D, under the post and through court as well🤩

Thank you to Liv you kindly played up for us before her match for Clubs and did a great job!

2 out of 3 wins so far for Aces – keep up the great work girls!! 🤍✨

Written by Gemma – Captain

Hearts vs Blackbird Divas
36-47

A strong performance from Hearts. Although the final score didn’t quite go our way, it was a great display of teamwork, effort, and determination.

It took us a little while to find our rhythm in the first quarter, but once we settled, our connections started to shine. Molly Stanley and Lauren Goymer worked brilliantly in the circle, putting their training into action with some smooth rotations around the D.

Shannon Hall had a tough battle at WA against an extremely contacty WD but showed brilliant resilience and composure before I came on to give her a well-deserved break.

In the second quarter Libby, who kindly stepped up to play for us, was incredible in defence — sticking to her GS like glue and forcing error after error into the D.

In the second half, Lauren and I linked up nicely in the shooting circle, staying patient and popping out for those sneaky passes to get around some very tricky defenders. Nat, despite being slightly worse for wear, played a brilliant game in mid court (better than most of us sober tbh) making some fast interceptions and keeping the pressure around Divas shooting D.

Moving into the third quarter, Pippa Kelly and Kate McStrafick really stepped up the pressure, working together to keep their GA out of the circle and slow down their attacking play.

The final quarter saw the iconic defending duo Molly and Pippa in full force — pulling off their gymnastic interceptions to stop those goals (It looked as cool as it sounded).

A huge shoutout to Shannon, who earned a very well-deserved Player of the Match for her accurate feeds into the D and for putting up a great battle with a tough WD.

Overall, this was a great match filled with energy, communication, and determination. We just need to work on keeping our heads up, staying confident, and trusting in our ability as a team! ❤️💪

Written by Jodie – Player

Queens put in a strong performance today agaisnt a very young and fit Ryland team, but showed determination and teamwork across the court. Despite the final score of 43–32. There were many positives to take from the game.📈

In the shooting circle, Amy and Frankie worked well under pressure, creating space and found opportunities with confidence. Their movement and composure provided a steady platform.

Katie and Ximena were dynamic through the midcourt, linking defence to attack effectively and delivering accurate feeds through the court and even their defence was kept strong when Rangers had the ball!

Our defensive team, Lucinda, Georgina, Beth, and Antonia applied consistent pressure throughout. Their marking, interceptions, and resilience restricted the opposition’s shooting opportunities and kept us in contention until the final whistle.

Although the result did not go our way, Queens demonstrated commitment, positivity, and a willingness to keep fighting. We definitely didn’t give up at any point! POM- Amy but a special mention to Georgina and Ximena on their first Queens match and doing amazing!

Written by Amy – Player