Our 1st VII, U16A, U15A and U14A netball teams have all enjoyed playing in the Sisters in Sport National Cup for the first time this year.
The U14s played their first round against Croydon High School back in September, this was a tough game and the girls put in a good performance for a new squad. The second round saw the girls travel to Epsom where they upped their game and put in a first-class performance to take the win 48-14. In the third round the girls played Wimbledon High School, the first half of the game was end-to-end with both teams working tirelessly to turn over the ball however, in the third quarter the Hurst girls just pulled away and stretched their lead further in the final quarter to take the win 38-29. The fourth round will see the U14s travel to Godolphin & Latymer School and a win will secure them a place in the quarter-finals.
The U15s faced Reigate in their first round, which they knew would be tough. A strong start saw the Hurst girls finish the first quarter a couple of goals up and they never looked back, pushing on each quarter to take the game 50-38. In the second round the girls gave a brilliant performance against Tormead School to storm home for a 53-23 win. The brilliantly contested third round match against Caterham produced some of the best U15 netball skills from both sides. The entire game was close with no more than three goals separating the teams in the first three quarters. Hurst went into the final quarter one goal up, however Caterham came out fighting and at one point stretched out to a three-goal lead. The Hurst girls retained their composure and played some intelligent netball to get themselves back into the game and eventually pulled away for a 38-33 win. The following round will see the U15s play Sevenoaks for a place in the quarter-finals.
The 16A team have had a busy start to the term with a number of hockey games alongside their netball cup campaign. In the first round the whole squad performed well to beat Roedean 31-17. Having beaten Reigate by just one goal in a fixture last year, the girls knew they were in for a good game when they played Reigate in the second round. Another end-to-end game, Hurst went into the final quarter one goal up and pushed on to take a 30-23 victory. This low scoring game showed how well both defensive units performed. The third round saw the U16s travel to Sevenoaks to face Walthamstow Hall. In a slow first quarter Hurst went down by five goals, they improved in the second quarter, but still went into half-time 17-11 down. After a quick regroup, the Hurst girls came flying out of the blocks and made many turnovers to win the third quarter 12-4, as they took a two-goal advantage into the final quarter. During a nervous 15 minutes, both teams played some strong netball with many defensive turnovers, however the Hurst girls just held on at the end to win the game 32-31. For the next round the U16As will travel to St Catherine’s School where they hope book a place in the quarter-finals.
The 1st VII started their cup campaign against Roedean. They took control from the first quarter, pushed on every 15 minutes and finished with an impressive 49-29 victory. Next up was Reigate Grammar, an enjoyable match with some good passages of play and some impressive shooting stats. Although the Hurst girls took a 58-28 victory, the score line did not reflect how close the game was. In the third round our girls took on the reigning National Schools Champions, Worthing College. They knew it would be a tough game as Worthing fielded all bar one of their title winning team. The Hurst girls put on a fantastic performance and ended the first quarter just one goal down. Throughout the game Worthing had to fight for every ball and our girls put on a fantastic display of netball, however they were unfortunate to fall short as Worthing took the victory 54-39 – another game in which the score line did not reflect the battle.
Ahead of Christmas, the 1st VII and U15A will be competing in the third round of the Independent Schools National Cup against Queen Anne’s School in Reading and Putney High respectively; and our 1st VII, 16A and 14A teams are looking ahead and working hard towards the regional finals of the National Schools Championships on the 25th January.
Ellen Franks, Head of Netball