2017 U23 Women's Team National Results
Use the following links to view results and photos from the U23 Women's National Tournament in Porirua.
Photos Courtesy of Marelda O'Rourke-Gallaher
Social Media:
LiveStream - U23 Nats
Head Coach - Brent Matehaere
Managers - Jan Schriffer, Glenda Kaan, Suzanne TeAu
Tournament Wrap-up from Coach Brent Matehaere:
Ten players committed themselves to attending the National U23 tournament held at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua. The group had limited preparation prior to the tournament and relied on coming together quickly to achieve success. This happened in the first encounter against Porirua where we settled into a rhythm and came out on top. The team was made complete when Aliyah Dunn arrived from the Silver Ferns camp but this was short lived as Kelly Thompson injured her knee and was unable to take any further part in the tournament.
This proved significant as we had to change our offensive structure within the tournament. The girls picked up on this quickly and were able to dispatch Canterbury and Manawatu easily and set up a top of the table clash with Waikato and a guaranteed semi-final spot.
Unfortunately Day 3 was where the lack of preparation and organisation really told and we were undone by a class Waikato outfit and never really got into our stride against Tauranga who shot the ball really well in that game.
In the 3/4 playoff with Canterbury any lost momentum was quickly regained and we played our best game of the tournament, winning the bronze medal.
