Story by Jasmine Goh/Red Sports. Photos by Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports and REDintern Soh Jun Wei
River Valley GS shoots against MGS GK. (Photo 1 © Lim Yong Teck/Red Sports)
Jurong East Sports Complex, Friday, March 7, 2014 – River Valley High School (RVHS) outwitted Methodist Girls’ School (MGS) to claim a 25–24 victory to take home the West Zone B Division Netball Championship.
River Valley High trailed throughout the whole game, only to snatch lead with a minute left in the last quarter and run away with the victory. River Valley had finished fourth in 2013.
By the end of the first quarter, it was clear that it was going to be a close fight. Both teams were evenly-matched as the quarter ended 5–5.
MGS pulled away in the second quarter, as their Goal Shooter Claire Seah and Goal Attack Amanda Lim displayed great chemistry in their second passes and quick rotation. Standing at 179cm, Claire’s height advantage allowed her to successfully pot her shots without much difficulty. MGS pulled ahead to lead 14–9 by half-time.
Keen to narrow the gap, River Valley charged back on court at the start of the third quarter to pot five straight goals to trail by one at 14–15. The defenders from River Valley continued to create turnovers to bring their shooters more attempts and their shooters obliged.
However, it was MGS that had the slight 19–15 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
The last quarter was the most intense as both sides felt the pressure, and the supporters went ballistic with thunderous cheers whenever their team’s shooter potted in their shots. MGS found it difficult to maintain possession and had trouble scoring due to relentless pressure from the River Valley defenders, giving the latter the opportunity to rack up the goals.
At the final whistle, the River Valley bench erupted in joy, seemingly unable to fathom the comeback they just made as they emerged 25–24 winners.
“We started pulling away in the second quarter, but I think we got complacent towards the end,” said MGS co-captain Celine Lim.
“River Valley put up a good fight today. Congratulations to them on their win!” added MGS co-captain Wen Sze.
River Valley captain, Lee Jieshi, was very proud of her team.
“Most of us started learning the basic fundamentals of Netball about four years back,” she said. “It is really all about playing our own game and competing against ourselves.”
When asked about some of the difficulties the team faced this season, she said: “We had some of our main players who were injured and had to cope with the line changes. However, we were prepared as we have players who can play different positions. That was a plus point for us.”
Scores by Quarter
River Valley High vs MGS
1st Q: 5–5
2nd Q: 4–9 (9–14)
3rd Q: 6–5 (15–19)
4th Q: 10–5 (25–24)
Final Score: 25–24
River Valley High Roster
Tee Kahling, Adeline Tan, Isabel Lui, Lee Jieshi, Gracelyn Tan, Valerie Poh, Yew Shu Ning, Faith Yao, Kee Yi Xuan, Carrissa Ng, Kong Qiu Yii, Yeo Kaining
MGS Roster
Claire Seah, Amanda Lim, Celine Lim, Yap Wen Sze, Olivia Tan, Vivien Lim, Grace Tay, Lee Sydney, Isabelle Wang, Gloria Lee, Klara Chew, Chloe Ang
2014 West Zone B Division Netball Championship – fixtures and results
More photos on next page
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