8th March 2024 - Rangers vs Roar
Round 1 Opens
Rangers line up: Abbey GS, Kat GA, Chelsea WA, Morgan C, Heidi WD, Bek GD, Ellie GK
The season got under way with a bang as hard defensive pressure enabled Bek and Heidi to get tips and help Rangers take an early lead. A missed shot and break saw this lead consolidated: 4-2. Roar held their own entre and a scored again from a stray pass to even it up. A fumble from Roar on top of some steady Rangers pressure was matched by a fumble from Rangers and the game settled into a tight tussle, with the scores even with 2 to go before quarter time. Ellie’s pressure kept giving Rangers opportunities and despite some efforts form Roar, Rangers went into the first break up by 2.
A quick intercept gave Rangers the first goal in the second. Chelsea used her speed and strength many times with strong takes. Ellie posed a huge problem for Roar shooters, taking clean intercepts and confusing the space. On the back of a strong defensive effort and steady shooting, Rangers were up by 6. A surge from Roar was cut short when Bek tipped the ball back Rangers way to settle at a 4 goal lead. A late run by Roar cut this to 27:25 at half time.
Our Jill Mac medalist, Georgia, continued to sit on the bench, while Tayla came on at WD and Heidi moved to C. Roar got the first then it ran goal for goal with both teams battling every ball. The momentum seemed to swing to Roar and Rangers looked tired and when a stray centre pass presented a opportunity to Roar, they took it and scores were even at 30 all. Morgan returned to C, and Roar continued their good run. Our circle looked a bit static and a couple of feeds missed their mark. With Roar up by 3, Georgia was brought on at GA with a few minutes to go in the third. Strong drives by Chelsea kept Rangers moving through the middle and Georigia slotted her fitrst mid-range shot on the whistle to keep us in it 38:42.
No changes for the last and quick movement form Georgia gave us the opening goal. Tired bodies created a messy few minutes where neither team could keep possession. The gap stayed around 4 but some miscommunication between Rnagers players gave Roar 2 in a row. Georgia sank 2 settlers, but a leap and awkward landing for Tayla saw her taken from the court. Ellie and Bek continued to battle hard defensively but Roar has smelled victory and turnovers on the transverse line cost Rangers. The final score of 45:54 did not tell the story of this game, in which Rangers had control of for so long.
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