Otago had a successful start to the new Lois Muir Challenge netball series, comprehensively beating Waikato 53-27 in Christchurch on Saturday.
Coach Janine Southby was full of praise for her young side, which has an average age of 18, as it dominated Waikato throughout to come out easy winners.
Millie Lees impressed in midcourt for Otago while Grier Campbell shot 33 goals from 39 attempts. At the defensive end, Southby was also impressed by the performances of New Zealand under-21 players Hannah Broederlow and Jaimee Power.
The month-long tournament is a feeder competition for the ANZ Championship and is designed to provide pathways for players and simulate the professional environment. It features seven sides which will play each other in a round robin.
While it is early days for the tournament, Southby was excited by the opportunities it presented to the next tier of players.
‘‘The competition from other teams is quite strong. There is quite a mixture of young, upcoming and experienced players throughout the teams".
Otago had a bye on Sunday, but played a non-competition match against Canterbury B which Otago won 53-20.
‘‘I was happy that the girls were able to back up in that match because they are going to need to do that most weekends".
Matches will be played in Invercargill this weekend, followed by a round in Dunedin on April 12 and 13.
