Guernsey star Bourgaize signs off with a key win

GUERNSEY star Nena Bourgaize has bowed out of this season's Condor Super League in winning style.

She helped Thundercats to a hard-fought 31-29 victory over Sharks before heading off travelling for a year.

However, after the opening exchanges, organiser and development officer Gill Queripel admitted that it did not look as if it was going to be a close match.

'I am expecting to see Sharks come into their own in the second half of the season, but I thought I was going to be disappointed as Thundercats powered to an 11-6 lead in the first quarter,' she said.

The defensive pair of Cassie Le Page and Elka De Carteret made it hard for the inexperienced Sharks shooting duo of Ali Guillou and Leah Green to get the ball.

When they did manage it, they were off balance when putting the shot up.

At the other end, though, Tessa Hinshaw and Hanah Dunnell were ripping apart the Sharks defence.

At half-time Sharks coach Tanya Gibson shuffled her pack and moved Lyndsey Bougourd up front and Green to wing attack while into defence went Emma Guilbert and Gemma Loveridge.

Now having experienced players in each third, they started to take the game to Thundercats and drew the second quarter.

The third saw some spirited play from Sharks with Donna Brehaut linking the attack and defence.

With Guilbert and Loveridge putting the Thundercats shooters under more pressure, goals were hard to come by and any missed shots were sent down the other end to Guillou and Bougourd, who were scoring with more consistency.

Going into the last quarter, Thundercats were only three goals up, 23-20, and Sharks pulled the game back to level the score.

Every ball was hard fought, errors crept in as all the players were put under immense pressure.

With five minutes on the clock, Hinshaw had to leave the game having rolled her ankle and Bourgaize moved to GA and Amy Niles re-entered at centre.

Thundercats moved the ball into the circle and scored two quick goals, from which Sharks could not recover.

'Sharks have to take the positives from this as they won the second half of this game 19-16 and drew the second quarter,' Queripel said.

'They have to learn to come out faster. This can be done by a good warm-up programme before the game, so everyone is keyed up and ready to go.'

One of the top teams, either Panthers or Zebras, were going to drop points in the week's other fixture, which was always going to be tight.

From the off the teams were trading goals, although the partnership of Anna Trump and Cath Coutanche were making easier work of it than Laura Calloway and Emma Wyatt-Nicole.

The first two quarters were both drawn, with the teams level at 13-13 at half-time.

Changes were made for the third quarter, with Shelley de Lisle on for Zebras while Claire Queripel went into GA and backing up Callaway for Panthers, which made the movement in the circle more crisp as passes from Elaine Donaldson and Clara de Jersey found their mark.

De Lisle took time to settle but, with encouragement and back-up from Trump, she was soon sinking some fine shots while teammate Katie Cochrane was punishing any loose balls in the centre and feeding them quickly and accurately to the shooters.

The final quarter saw Panthers two goals up, 22-20, but Zebras were not to be denied and Panthers will rue missing so many shots at goal, as the balls were swept up by the fine defensive duo of Anais De Carteret and Claire Green and sent to the shooting duo of Zebras, who did not miss.

The final score was 30-27 to Zebras.

'One thing the other teams have to take on board is that Zebras are firing with three very capable shooters and a sharp centre court, with Katie Cochrane playing some superb netball both at club, island and Super League level,' said Queripel.

'So look out all you others in the league, Zebras are coming up on the rails and may yet pinch the league from under you noses.'

This result throws the league open as Thundercats and Experience sit at the top going into the second half of the season.