City West Falcons struggled to shake a determined Peninsula Waves yet still came away with the points in the Victorian Netball League championship division.
What was expected to be a certain win for the Falcons against the ninth-placed Waves turned out to be a hard-fought struggle.
Scores were level at the first change and again at the main break, the Falcons’ accuracy vital as they had three less scoring shots for the half.
The Falcons had to switch their goaling combination at half-time, with goal attack Stephanie Puopolo on game time restriction and replaced by Tahnysha Salanoa, as she had been the previous week.
The game remained even in the third quarter, with the Falcons leading by just a goal at the final break.
But the Falcons’ experience showed through in the final quarter, their best of the game – they scored 15 to seven to seal a 53-45 win.
Kath Knott was the best goaler on court, shooting 36 goals. Salanoa shot 10 goals from 10 attempts, while Puopolo shot nine goals from 10 attempts.
Emily Post, who was playing centre for a second straight week, with Molly Jovic out injured, was the only Falcons player to feature in the votes.
She received one vote, behind the Waves Monique French and Jessica Maher.
The Falcons are fourth on the ladder after seven rounds, with five wins.
It was a good night for the Falcons, with their division 1 and under-19 teams also recording wins.
In division 1, the Falcons led from start to finish in a 62-45 win. After leading by five goals at quarter-time, the Falcons extended the lead in every quarter.
Tharjini Sivalingan was the best of the Falcons’ shooters with 37 goals from 43 attempts.
Stephanie Tyrell shot 17 goals while Bridget O’Halloran shot eight goals after moving into goal attack at half-time.
Claire Moylan was named best on court. She moved to equal second in the division 1 most valuable player award.
The Falcons’ under-19 team had a big win against the Waves.
The ladder leaders flew out of the blocks with a 19-7 first quarter and the Waves were never able to recover, eventually losing 65-40.
