Black give Blaze a scare

Although former Premier Division champions Blaze entered the Grammar School hall as firm favourites against Rezzers’ B team, they led by merely three goals into the final quarter, after which they powered ahead to triumph 42-32.

This close battle was characteristic of a night when two Lightning sides also punched above their weight as ‘underdogs’ of their Deloitte Winter League matches – their A team lost by three to the Island Men, while six goals split their second string from champions Rezzers Green.

Experienced player Donna Brehaut, who captains Lightning A and coaches B, thinks the new rotating substitutes might have helped level the five-team division.

‘All the games are good, and you are going into those games knowing you are going to have a contest on your hands,’ she said.

‘The B teams are definitely up there and I don’t know if it’s the change of the game, with rotation. It’s like the basketball model – you are utilising your whole squad and everyone is part of the performance.’

Rezzers Black could have been even closer had they not started slowly, struggling to convert amid heavy pressure from a tough Blaze defence headed by Zola Saunders, Hannah Blondel and Ella Staples.

At the opposite end, sharp-shooting teenage GA Vicky Yabsley stood out as she helped fire Blaze to a 15-6 quarter lead.

Rezzers began closing immediately in quarter two, with league debutante Gabriella Gervaise-Brazier – who had not played regularly since school but carries clear potential, being a sister of Island star Tiff – underlining her quick improvement at WD, complementing lively C Savannah Goddard.

Meanwhile, their juniors shone in both circles, with Evie McGall impressing at GD as Olivia Cotterill and Taylor Callanan shot sharply.

Rezzers closed to 22-18 at half-time and also gained slightly in quarter three, which ended 31-28 to Blaze.

But Blaze saw the game out strongly with some positive turnovers and clean ball movement, even after tireless C Amy Fallaize left for rugby at the interval.

Saunders, who assumed captaincy from absent sister Nena Copperwaite, sees their versatility as a strong point.

‘As the season goes on, I think we’ll get stronger,’ she said.

‘We’ve got a large squad, and rotating it is really working for us, with players able to play different positions, so we’ve definitely got an advantage there.’

She added: ‘Rezzers played really well – can’t take anything away from them.

‘We made it hard for ourselves. We cruised until we had to put the pedal down, then last quarter we had to step up and play to our full potential.’

Yabsley earned Blaze player of the match, while Goddard and McGall shared the honours for Rezzers.

Black's coach Heidi Rosamund is pleased to see the blend of experience and youth coming together.

‘When you look at the youth in the team, I think those connections are now building, and it’s great for the girls to have some experience on court to grow and learn from,’ she said.

‘I think we’ve got a nice blend in this team.

‘Across the whole of the team, we’re improving in the areas, connections are forming, and yeah we were really happy with the result.’

Afterwards, Lightning B dazzled by stealing the first quarter from Rezzers Green, excelling as a team to win 12-10.

But Rezzers managed to push them to the outside channels and force errors early into quarter two, overtaking them to lead 24-18 at half-time.

Their Tiff Gervaise-Brazier was playing a nice, steady game and helped calm the centre court, where she joined WA and POM Becky Chamberlain, while shooters Emma Sykes and Keeleigh Le Tissier stepped up their game in the second half.

Trailing 37-27 to the vastly-experienced Rezzers at three quarters did not bode well for Lightning.

But they gave it a good go, closing to four with around six minutes left only for Rezzers to come through 48-42.

Lightning had benefited from some great drives from WA Shannon Jordan and the POM-winning performance of GS Emily Kendal.

Absences impacted both the men and Lightning A in their ‘friendly’ match at St Sampson’s High, leading to the former fielding a female player and the latter drawing from their C team.

But it proved another great contest. The men led quarter one 18-10 but were pushed hard to hold back a resolute Lightning side, who edged every subsequent period and just missed the upset in losing 50-47.

The GS from each side – Louis Le Cheminant and Immy Giles – took POM honours.