The netball team travelled to Holy Cross (Bury) on Wednesday afternoon. After a closely contested game, Loreto just fell short to an in-form Holy Cross side.

Loreto started the game well, going goal-for-goal with Holy Cross, finishing the first quarter within one goal of the home side. Player of the match, Freya Coggins, started the game as she meant to go on; she was clinical under the post and displayed some slick attacking dodges and rolls to lose her defender. Combining well with Kemi Onasanya in the shooting circle, Loreto managed to stay within touching distance, finishing the first quarter 10 – 9 to Holy Cross.

The second quarter saw Holy Cross make some changes in their attacking line up, affecting their fluency slightly, which allowed Loreto to push on and take the lead. In defence Isabelle Tyler, Jasmine McAvoy and Giselle Yeboah were as tenacious as ever. Giselle lead from the back at GK and had the tough task of coming up against a prolific Manchester Thunder U19 GS. However, Giselle was not deterred and had a fantastic game, earning herself opposition’s play of the match. Loreto’s attack was even better this quarter, quick ball movement and pinpoint accurate feeds meant that the Holy Cross defence could not get into their groove. Lydia Forster and Grace McAvoy played a key role in the centre court attack using their speed to hit the circle edge, supplying their shooters with plenty of opportunities to score – and they obliged. The second quarter finished 18 – 22 to Loreto.

Loreto made some changes in the third quarter, Kemi Onasanya moved into the mid-court and Emily Brocklebank came on at GA. The game continued to be a close contest, with both teams going blow for blow and not giving each other an inch. Holy Cross’ attack was slick and fluent, and the deep drives to the pocket by their WA was unstoppable at times. Their shooting combination was faultless and both players carried the load evenly, with their GA showing great awareness of when to cut through the circle in order to alleviate the pressure on the GS. The third quarter finished 32 – 31 to Holy Cross.

The fourth and final quarter is where Holy Cross showed their class, they remained calm under pressure and executed their game plan perfectly, punishing Loreto for any errors that they made. Loreto stuck to task but unfortunately made some unforced errors in the final half of the last quarter, allowing Holy Cross to take the game. Loreto played some excellent netball throughout the game, but some stray feeds and uncharacteristic mistakes saw Loreto fall short to an impressive Holy Cross side, who remained clinical for all four quarters.

The final score finished Holy Cross 41 – 35 Loreto.

Squad: Giselle Yeboah (OPOTM), Jasmine McAvoy, Isabelle Tyler, Daisy Shea, Grace McAvoy, Lydia Forster, Kemi Onasanya, Emily Brocklebank, Freya Coggins (POTM) and Grace O’Shaunessy.

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