After a tough couple of games, the City West Falcons have come back firing on all cylinders, with a huge win in the Victorian Netball League championships division.
The Falcons made light work of the Peninsula Waves on Wednesday night, winning 93-47.
The score is the highest of the season for the Falcons, who are currently sitting second on the ladder with their eyes set on the finals in three weeks time.
Falcons coach Marg Lind said the key to the team’s recent success was a strong focus on defence, which showed in their win against the Waves.
“We’ve been doing a fair bit of focus on overall team defence, because we feel like we’re the highest scoring team in the league, but we’ve had a fair bit scored against us,” Lind said.
“The key was just really good defensive pressure right across each position, not just our defenders.”
Shooter Jane Cook had a stellar night on the scoreboard, despite recently returning from an ankle injury.
Supporting Cook on the court was Uneeq Palavi and Madelyn Gray, who both did a really great job, Lind said.
Lind also commended centre Montana Holmes and goalkeeper Sarah Szczykulski on a solid game.
With the finals around the corner and Falcons in the top four in all three divisions, the teams are well placed for the rest of the season, but Lind said some points were tight and they needed to keep winning.
The scores are particularly close in the under-19 division, where the Falcons are placed on top of the ladder but only have six points separating them from the rest of the top five.
It was a less exciting result for the under-19 team on Wednesday, as they drew with the Waves 49-49.
But Lind said the draw was still a good result as the team came back from being down 10 goals.
“We probably should have won to be honest, we got one ahead but the time in the last minute just didn’t play in our favour,” she said.
Lind said the closely fought game showed the young team had a strong spirit.
“They’re a good, young team with a lot of potential so it’s good to see that they’re able to fight it out,” she said.
The Falcons will take on the Ariels next week on their home ground, followed by a clash with Melbourne University Lightning on July 13.
