College B caused arguably the upset of the Dunedin premier club round as it toppled previously unbeaten Physed B on Saturday.
It was a big turnaround for Physed B to lose 44-33, just one week after gaining club bragging rights when it beat Physed A by one goal.
Earlier on Saturday, University Albion secured a 43-33 win over Physed A and jumped to top spot on the ladder with 13 points.
Below University, it is a tight tussle with College A, College B, Southern Magpies and Physed B all sitting on 12 points, making for an exciting watch to see how this season pans out.
Southern beat Columba College A 56-44, but the Magpies did not take flight until late in the second quarter.
The secondary school side went toe-to-toe with the experienced club players, pushing the Magpies hard to trail by three after the first quarter.
Columba levelled the scores early in the second quarter, but the Magpies were a cut above and withstood Columba’s surge.
Southern centre Emily Allan was a level head in the middle and kept her side in it with her accurate feeds.
Captain Harriett Cuttance did a mountain of work for her attack line, and when she was not going to post herself, she was dishing off some lovely offloads to shooter Chloe Davis.
Davis was strong at the back and sunk her high shot more often than not, finishing on 80% and giving her side a 30-24 lead at halftime.
Columba goal defence Holly McRae was sublime, pulling in intercepts all over the court and helping the schoolgirls pull back within three.
But the Magpies sat in a box defence, worked as a unit and confused the space for Columba’s attack line.
That gave the defenders opportunities to pick up the crumbs across the court and goal defence Della-May Vining boxed out to secure rebounds.
Southern put its foot down to lead 43-34 at the break and pushed on to grind out a good win.
Columba’s Brenna Lyons and Georgia Spek were solid for their side.
College A had a big 57-31 win over Physed Blue.
College A was far too strong, leading 14-8 at the first quarter and 26-14 at the break.
Talei Pelasio screened space for herself at the back and Annie Timu did a wealth of work on defence and attack, bringing the ball down the court.
