A strong second quarter helped Phys Ed B beat the Southern Magpies 54-42 in the Dunedin premier competition on Saturday.
Southern was sitting at the top of the table heading into the game — after winning both of its games this round — and Phys Ed was fifth with a win and a loss.
While a lot of the game was relatively even, it was the second quarter that had the biggest impact.
Phys Ed scored seven more goals to take a 10-point lead at halftime.
It scored five unanswered goals in the early stages of the quarter thanks to good defensive pressure and quick movement down the court.
The students picked up a lot of ball, especially through goal defence Brooke Johnston, who was disruptive in the centre third and Southern’s shooting circle.
She joined fellow defenders Anita Van den Beld and Anna Young throughout the game to collectively apply pressure on Southern attackers.
Down the other end, players were not afraid to throw long to their attackers or shooters.
Phys Ed shooters Lucy Ross and Kia Wales were accurate under the hoop and able to capitalise on their teammates’ pick-ups.
They shot at a combined 87%.
Their team outscored Southern by three goals in both the first and third quarter and went down by one in the final.
Southern had some great moments of play and was patient with the ball when it needed to be.
Wing attack Grace Herdman, who started the game at centre, was quick and fed some nice ball into her shooters.
Shooter Jaime Anderson, who only missed three goals at 88% accuracy, moved well and often created space by staying on her opposition before turning and collecting a pass under the hoop.
She had a nice combination with fellow shooter Harriett Cuttance, who was mobile around the top of the circle.
Phys Ed made a few positional changes throughout the game while Southern, who had eight players, largely kept to the same seven.
In other games, Phys Ed A beat St Hilda’s senior A 59-33, College A beat Columba College 65-51, and College Red pipped Phys Ed C 45-41.
The competition will break for three weeks before resuming on July 16.
