Shooters Sparks 25 Shooters Flames 21
Stratford Ladies Purples 49 BDR 13
Comets Tornadoes 43 Thunderbirds 28

Only one early game this week after Pink Ladies concede to Stratford Ladies Blues due to a bout of sickness and injury. But what an early game it was! The two Shooters teams were fighting it out, with Flames on top of Sparks in the league table going into the game. Flames started strongly, getting the ball quickly to GS, Naomi Parker, who scored well and fought hard to regain the ball on the rebounds. Sparks came back fighting in the second and third quarter with a good team performance bringing the scoreline back to level. Newly registered players Emma Slater for Flames and Pip Ireland for Sparks made a real impact which was recognised with Emma being given Player's Player and Pip given Umpire's player. Although great blocking and leaning by Karen Philpott at GK for Flames, Robyn Beebe's shooting accuracy couldn't be stopped and Sparks took the win 25-21. 

Current leaders going into this weeks game, Stratford Ladies Purples, streamed ahead of 5th place BDR in the first quarter of their game but BDR remained in high spirits performing stronger in the second half. There were excellent performances by BDR's WD Andrea Hancox getting umpire's player and Helen Handy as GK getting player's player but they were up against a formidable shooting pair Lottie Baird and Rebecca England from Stratford Ladies Purples who continued to score at every opportunity. The final score ended 49-13 with Stratford Ladies Purples in a strong position at the top of the league table.

In the other late game we saw current 3rd place Thunderbirds take on 7th place Comets Tornadoes who still have a game in hand. Thuderbirds made a impressive start with a closely matched first quarter. Comets Tornadoes defended well and, thanks to a particularly strong third quarter and excellent shooting from Ella Kirby, extended their lead to 43-28. 

Player of the match awards:
Shooters Sparks: Umpire's player - P Ireland, Player's player - R Beebe
Shooters Flames: Umpire's player - K Philpott, Player's player - E Slater
Stratford Ladies Purples: Umpire's player - L Baird, Player's player - R England
BDR: Umpire's player - A Hancox , Player's player - H Handy

Comets Tornadoes: Umpire's player - E Kirby, Player's player - M Paish

Thunderbirds: Umpire's player - C Stacey, Player's player - K Galvin

Stratford Ladies Blues 39 Comets Tornadoes 46
Trust Helping Hands 33 Shooters Flames 20
Stratford Ladies Purples 31 Shooters Sparks 31
BDR 21 Thunderbirds 24

This weeks matches mixed the league table positions up somewhat.  In the early fixtures, second placed Stratford Ladies Blues faced Comets Tornadoes who, having played 2 less games than other teams, were sitting in seventh position.  Stratford Blues pulled in support from Purples with Ella Learly playing up at GD.  A great mid court performance from Lucie Mellor and on point shooting from Becky Fernandes-Green helped Comets take the win and 5 points, moving them up to sixth position still with a game in hand.  

Trust Helping Hands met Shooters Flames in what was a friendly yet competitive match.  Trust's Kay Dawson played harbouring a hamstring niggle so stayed at GS, as opposed to her usual position of GA, to protect the injury.  Ably supported by Sally Morris at GA, the team build in confidence in the circle converting shooting opportunities.  At the other end, Leonie Green at GD frustrated Flames shooting attempts as she played an excellent defensive game.  Flames threw all they had at Trust by showing their adaptability and changing positions during the intervals.  Sian Betteridge played at C, WA and GA contributing well at each position and deservedly earning herself the umpires' player award.  

BDR and Thunderbirds began this week's match equal on points.  The umpires recognised strong mid court performances from both teams with Ashlee Powell at C for BDR and newly registered Alice Leeson at WA for Thunderbirds taking their player awards.  The teams themselves acknowledged the shooting performance from Phoebe Larner for Thunderbirds and defensive skills of Helen Handy for BDR.  With Thunderbirds taking the win they move up to third position and BDR drop one place to fifth.

Stratford Ladies Purples took on Shooters Sparks.  Purples played short with just 6 players until reinforcements arrived in the final quarter in the form of Donna Nixon having played a match in the Redditch league earlier in the morning.  A very evenly matched game saw the scores even at the end of both of the first two quarters.  Sparks played with confidence and made the most of opportunities, maybe buoyed from notching up their first point last week.  In the third quarter, Sparks pulled ahead by 6 goals by the end of that period. Bex Heath served the team well at GS rarely missing the net when given the opportunity and supported the team across the court with encouragement and calm advice throughout the match - earning her the umpires' player award.  Emily Holmes' consistency midcourt at C helped keep Purples in the game and with less than 10 minutes of the final period remaining her team were back to a full strength, and the match was tight.  A great game for the neutral observer, it ended a draw with what might have been the winning goal for Purples passing through the net just seconds too late.  The points shared between the two team - 3 points well earned by the less experienced Sparks team who were exuberant with their performance.  [Picture below]

Congratulations to Kayleigh Seys, Jemma Moore and Bex Heath, all from Shooters Netball Club.  Kayleigh passed her Into Officiating award after her practical assessment.  Jemma took and passed the written test for the C award, and Bex was observed umpiring and passed her pre-assessment for her C award also.  Great news for the club and the league as development of officials is critical to the future of the league.  Well done ladies!

Player of the match awards:

• Stratford Ladies Blues: Umpires' and players' player - Amy Towne
• Comets Tornadoes: Umpires' player - Lucie Mellor, Players' player - Becky Fernandes-Green
• Trust Helping Hands: Umpires' player - Leonie Green, Players' player - Sarah Henderson
• Shooters Flames: Umpires' player - Sian Betteridge, Players' player - Pippa Corby
• Stratford Ladies Purples: Umpires' and players' player - Emily Holmes
• Shooters Sparks: Umpires' player - Bex Heath, Players' player - Robyn Beebe
• BDR: Umpires' player - Ashlee Powell, Players' player - Helen Handy
• Thunderbirds: Umpires' player - Alice Leeson, Players' player - Phoebe Larner

Trust Helping Hands 22 Stratford Ladies Purples 37
Stratford Thunderbirds 36 Shooters Sparks 24
BDR 25 Stratford Ladies Blues 47

​​Teams were back in action this week after the half term break.  A damp morning caused some issues with the suitability of the playing surface leading to the match between Pink Ladies and Comets Tornadoes being postponed.  The sole early fixture saw Trust Helping Hands take on Stratford Ladies Purples who, with added strength and support from a number of the club's A team players [Redditch league], played out a competent and polished game.  A good third quarter from Trust, particularly GK Kelly Stepney, who took a clean sweep of player of the match awards, saw them close the gap to just 4 goals and they worked hard to try to gain points from their training 'stable mates'.  However, Purples were too strong and extended their lead again in the final session to leave Trust taking just a point.

Stratford Thunderbirds took on Shooters Sparks who played their strongest game of the season so far with their highest goal tally.  The team were happy with their performance reflecting on their quick and sharp play across the court and some great shooting.  However, Thunderbirds also played a strong game with excellent shooting from Ellie Lees at GS who scooped both umpires' and players' player of the match awards.  They took the win, but with Sparks' score within half of the winning score, they notched up their first point of the season so far.

BDR had a strong first half against Stratford Ladies Blues and the score remained close.  Jeniene Mason played in different positions for BDR across the game and made a strong contribution in each, which the umpires couldn't fail to notice and she was recognised for this.  Stratford Ladies Blues were more consistent through the match and extended their lead in the second half to take the win.  Lottie Baird, a Purples player, played up for Blues after playing a full game in the early fixture and took the player of the match award in her second full match of the morning for providing strength in defence and across mid court which supported Blues in securing the win. 

Player of the match awards:

Trust Helping Hands: Umpires' and Players' player - Kelly Stepney
Stratford Ladies Purples: Umpires' player - Beth Griffiths, Players player - Laura Urquhart
Stratford Thunderbirds: Umpires' and Players' player - Ellie Lees
Shooters Sparks: Umpires' player - Amelia Rose, Players' player - Anna Philpott
BDR: Umpires' player - Jeniene Mason, Players' player - Michelle Hastie
Stratford Ladies Blues - Umpires' player - Lottie Baird, Players' player - Jo Wish