IN Regional League Division One Galmington travelled to play Team Bath and the teams traded goals in the first quarter which ended with Bath 15-14 ahead.

Galmington found themselves up against an extremely talented Bath goal shooter, who normally plays in their National League squad, and her accuracy helped the home team to extend their lead to 32-27 at half-time.

With Laura Dyke again superb at goal attack Galmington were doing their best to keep tabs with Bath in a high-scoring encounter but Bath managed to pull away to lead 55-41 with still a whole quarter left.

Some teams may have folded at this point but Galmington are made of sterner things and, with Emma McCormack and Laura Phelps also having fine matches, they gradually reduced the deficit to get within one goal of Bath.

However, the stunned Team Bath side managed to resist the pressure in the final stages to hold on for a 63-61 victory in a match which could so easily have gone the other way.

It was a very similar story in Division One when Trident went to Swindon to play Pinehurst.

Pinehurst had the better of a closely-contested first half to hold a narrow 29-24 lead.

Trident did not have the rub of the green in the third period and this, coupled with some basic errors, allowed Pinehurst to open up a 45-33 lead.

Trident, to their credit, regrouped and came right back into the match with Polly Land again scoring at every opportunity but, despite a tremendous team effort, they ran out of time and were defeated 54-50.

However, they were rewarded with an additional bonus point which moved them up to fourth in the table.

Five of Galmington’s six Somerset League teams were in action in what promised to be a challenging Saturday with several players unavailable over the half-term break.

Premier Division league leaders Hovelands made the long trek to Paulton to play Tomahawks and, after an even start, opened up a 16-11 first quarter lead which they extended to 33-17 at half-time.

They remained in control in the second half and, with Laura Preece having a fine match at wing defence, Hovelands completed a comfortable 55-38 win.

In Division One Claremont came close to losing their unbeaten league record when they visited Keinton Kestrels.

A single goal up after the first quarter, Claremont found themselves trailing 15-14 at half-time.

With goals at a premium in the difficult conditions Claremont were still 21-19 behind going into the final period but outstanding defence from Jaz Chester saw them snatch a 30-30 draw to preserve their unbeaten record.

In the same division Parkfield faced local rivals Tone but, despite a fine performance from Kate Northcott, were beaten in a close match by 37 goals to 30.

Queensway had the unenviable task of travelling to Paulton to play Division Two opponents Vipers, who had won all of their matches so far this season.

Vipers began the stronger and dominated the first half to build a 31-13 lead.

However, Queensway came into their own in the second half with Charlotte Hooper-Bleeks impressing at wing attack and, although the lost 53-29, they picked up a thoroughly deserved bonus point.