Q at the double

Associates win twice in summer league

Q ASSOCIATES completed a Newbury Summer League double last week.

Associates’ first-team cruised to a 26-15 victory over Newbury 4X4 Centre to move up to fourth in the Steiner Premier League.

And the second team proved too strong for Division 2 basement side Blue Jays, winning 22-8 to record their first victory of the season.

Q ’s first team started strongly and the mother-and-daughter combo of Ali Grimstone-Jones and Tara Conway in the shooting circle saw them take a 9-3 lead.

The two centres, Debbie Goddard for Newbury 4x4 and Jocey Nuttall for Q Associates, worked hard in the heat and Newbury pegged the score back to 13-8 at half-time.

Q came out for the third quarter and played some fast-flowing netball.

Their inexperienced shooter Jessie Hodgson combined well with the rest of Q’s attacking players to extend their lead to 21-11 with 10 minutes left to play.

Both teams worked hard to move the ball up the court in the final quarter, Kelly Blake and Helen Hedley-Smith combining well for Newbury 4x4.

But Q had a strong shooter in Gem White and they eased to an 11-goal win.

Associates’ second team got off to a good start, and strong shooting from best player Maddie Ettridge and Janet Calloway put them 7-1 up at the end of the first quarter.

Blue Jays hit back in the second quarter, but consistent shooting from Emmy Pemberton kept Q 13-5 ahead at half-time.

The third quarter ended 16-7, and the final period saw good interceptions from Blue Jays centre Jas Ebdow and Q’s wing attack Erin Marsh.

But Jays struggled to convert their chances and with Q’s best player Maddie Ettridge back in the circle, they finished 22-8 up.