On Friday 11th November the ERGS Senior Team played their first match against Cookstown High School, in Cookstown.
The team had a few members who were involved in the Schools’ Remembrance Service, so we had a little re-jigging to do to ensure the Team could perform as well as possible.
In the first quarter, the girls were each getting used to played with each other in their slightly changed positions. Anna Wilson was a strong driving force as she commanded the play on court. She spread the ball well using Aimee Ross, Natasha McKeown and Amanda Farrell to get the ball into our shooting circle. The first quarter ended with 6-4 to Cookstown.
The second half was much stronger, with the girls really gelling well together. They pulled the score level and kept it like that, thanks largely to the strong defence from Jane Black and Olivia Beavis preventing Cookstown from scoring and the shooting skills of Niamh Johnston and Amanda Farrell. Unfortunately, just at the end, Cookstown pulled away by 2 goals. Score 13-11 to Cookstown.
In the 3rd quarter, I decided to put fresh legs on the court. This really changed the dynamic of the team, and they weren’t as confident with each other. In hindsight, fewer changes at once would have worked better. However, on saying that – Lucy Pattinson made her first appearance for the team and played strongly. Jess Ferguson ( out of position) also played well, but was up against a NI U19 player, so had her work cut out. In the circle, Isla Rowland and Lauren Booth added to the score line, despite strong defence by Cookstown. This quarter saw Cookstown pull away by 6 goals. 19-13 to Cookstown.
Despite valiant efforts from all the players, the gap remained at 6 goals after the 4th quarter. Final score 23-17 to Cookstown.
Next match will be on Monday 21st November against Mount Lourdes – a local rival.
Squad:
- Jane Black
- Olivia Beavis
- Natasha McKeown
- Anna Wilson
- Aimee Ross
- Amanda Farrell
- Niamh Johnston
- Jess Ferguson
- Lucy Pattinson
- Lauren Booth
- Leah Grey
- Isla Rowland
