Regional League 3 South

Hovelands 47, Vivary 64

TAUNTON Vivary knew they were in for a tough final game of 2018, against newly-promoted local rivals Hovelands, from Galmington Netball Club.

Both teams started strongly, with Hovelands taking an early lead in the first quarter.

But Vivary remained positive and, after a shaky start, found their rhythm and took the lead.

Turnovers and accurate shooting enabled Vivary to hold on to their lead and run out as winners.

Player of the match: Mya Hounsell; opposition's POM: Lauren Knight; squad: Lauren Wilkinson, Mya Hounsell, Faye Symons, Susie Marsh, Lauren Knight, Meg Palmer, Amelia Watson, Nicole Smith; sponsor: Shine Hair Management

TAUNTON Netball Club have wished good luck to Mya Hounsell, who is leaving for Australia.

The club said: "A huge thank you for your outstanding performances and commitment throughout this season.

"You will be greatly missed, a huge goodbye from everyone at TNC."

Somerset Premier Division

Sharks 36, Tone 72

TONE met Stanchester’s Sharks in the top flight of the Somerset League, and recorded a resounding win, 72-36.

POM & OPOM: Becky Lucas; squad: GS Fee Grammer, GA Lauren Knight, WA Ruby Porter, C Hannah Robins, WD Kim Tong, GD Lucy Jones, GK Becky Lucas; sponsor: The Kings Arms

Somerset Premier Division

Sapphires 56, Monmouth 39

MONMOUTH struggled to cope with Sydenham Sapphires’ direct play in the first quarter, going 7-0 down.

Their new combinations took a while to bed in, eventually fighting back to trail 14-12.

The second quarter was fairly evenly contested (28-23), but in the third, Sapphires pulled away with some accurate feeding from their centre court players after forcing errors from the Monmouth girls (45-29).

Monmouth hadn’t lost their fight and came out strong in the final quarter, going goal for goal, but they couldn’t make any headway and ended up on the losing side.

POM: Vicki Cornish, OPOM: Verity Ward; squad: GS Vicki Cornish/Helen Lucas, GA Hannah Cork/Vicki Cornish, WA Tina Follett, C Kim Radford, WD Erin Humphris, GD Amy McGregor, GK Verity Ward; sponsor: Wilkie May and Tuckwood

Somerset Division 1

Rubies 33, Quantock 48

QUANTOCK also travelled to Bridgwater to play a Sydenham side, but proved too strong for Rubies, triumphing 48-33.

POM: Maisie Reynolds; OPOM: Denise Evely; sponsor: Mecca Bingo

Somerset Division 2

Blackdown 41, Tudor 16

BLACKDOWN met Tudor in an inter-club fixture, and ran out 41-16 winners.

Both teams struggled with the weather but it was Blackdown with their strong attack who took the early lead (10-4).

With a change of tactics, Tudor closed the gap in the second quarter (14-10).

But Blackdown’s defence remained strong, and interceptions and accurate shooting saw them increase their lead in the third quarter (25-12).

The final quarter was filled with high intensity, with everyone pushing to their limits, and Blackdown secured their win.

Blackdown’s POM: Hanna Jarvis; OPOM: Sophia Valmiki; Tudor’s POMs: Maddy Russell & Charlotte O’Leary; OPOM: Lucy Hird; Blackdown squad: GS Lucy Cox, GA Hanna Jarvis, WA Charlotte Owen, C Louise Frost, WD Victoria Saban, GD Sophia Valmiki, GK Rhonda Robins; Tudor squad: GS Lucy Hird/Jess Larkman, GA Maddy Russell, WA Ally Gabell, C Charlotte O’Leary, WD Libby Binding, GD Hayley Milne, GK Tanya Binding; sponsor: Mortgage Select (Blackdown), Marked Skin (Tudor)

Somerset Division 2

Tudor 60, Walton 25

TUDOR also had a fixture against Walton, a very strong team who made an impressive start, scoring 13 goals to Tudor’s five in the first quarter.

Some great defence and interceptions were made by Tudor, but they did struggle with getting the ball down the court.

The team played well together with some good passing around a strong defence.

POM: Charlotte Owen; OPOM: Tanya Binding; squad: GS Charlotte Owen, GA Maddy Russell, WA Ally Gabell, C Charlotte O’Leary, WD Libby Binding, GD Zoe Godber-Ford, GK Tanya Binding, reserve Sophia Valmiki

TAUNTON'S Under-16s enjoyed a comfortable win against Penzance (59-37), with different combinations being tried out successfully (player of the match: Gugu Mlotshwa).

Regional League 2
Trident 37, Team Bath 46

GALMINGTON Trident took on Team Bath at Taunton Vale, and after a somewhat erratic opening to the match, a storming second quarter saw them lead by one goal at half time.

But Bath won the third period by 10 goals, and that proved decisive as it left the hosts with too much to do in the final quarter, ultimately losing out by nine.

POM: Jess Hewitt; sponsor: PW Pepperell & Son

Regional League 3 South
Hovelands 47, Vivary 64

HOVELANDS’ peformances have been improving week on week, and in this match they went almost goal-for-goal with local rivals Vivary, to trail by three after the first quarter.

But the Taunton team pulled away in the second period, before tactical changes from Hovelands led to a more evenly-contested third quarter.

Despite the hard work from the Galmington side, it was their neighbours who claimed the win.

POM: Shannon Beverley; sponsor: Joseph Wood Builders

Somerset Premier Division
Claremont 78, Newton 38

CLAREMONT were back to full strength this week, and walloped Yeovil side Newton by 40 goals.

They made a slow start, but soon settled into a rhythm and started to pull away, leading by eight after the first quarter.

A comfortable lead at half time allowed Claremont to experiment with new combinations, in a game where every player put in a strong performance to keep their winning run going.

POM: Sophie Hooley; sponsor: Somerset County Sports

Somerset Division 2
Queensway 43, Aldon 24

ANOTHER wet and dreary day at Taunton Vale saw Queensway meet Yeovil’s Aldon for what was a physical encounter.

Aldon started the match strongly, but a committed defensive display by Debbie Bere helped Queensway keep control. 

At the other end, Jess Bullock displayed her usual level of accuracy and excellence, but a calf injury a few minutes before the end of the first quarter saw her make way for super shooter Keira Johnstone. 

Making her Queensway debut, Sarah Macaree gave a dynamite performance in defence, always pressuring the Aldon attack, while star performer Lilly Perren seemed to pop up everywhere across the court.

All in all, it was a tough encounter for Queensway that could have gone either way, but it finished 43-24 in their favour. 

POM: Lilly Perren; sponsor: The Yew Tree Group