OUR ALLI IS ONE OF A KIND
Question: when is a wing defender a dominator and a comedienne at the same time?
Answer: when she’s Garville’s Alli Evans.
Alli showed both talents in our great 19-goal win over Tango to retain top spot on the ladder. Only high quality players can dominate a game from WD and that’s what Alli did over four quarters with her package of interceptions, deflections, back-up, and great voice – no-one demands the ball better than Alli.
But Alli also showed her flair for comedy – even if it was unintentional. During the third quarter she injured her finger, called time-out, received treatment, then returned to the court in the WA position. Seems Alli forgot she was our WD – until she was told she was on the wrong transverse line. But Alli’s break in concentration was only fleeting and within seconds she trapped a loose ball, and then took a brilliant interception that resulted in a Taylee Howard goal.
We established a match-winning lead of 15 goals by half-time, via some great feeding from Jordie Harrison in WA. Jordie specialised in long bomb passes to our shooters, and Kim Wade in centre was gut-running when not busy intercepting or deflecting balls in heavy traffic.
And our defence of Alli, Gab Stengle (GK), and Esther Young (GD) was as strong and resolute as ever. We lost the third quarter by four goals which posed the question of how would our girls respond in the final term. The answer was emphatic – a big lift in intensity from all players that reflected our pride and spirit. We won the final quarter by 8 goals and the catalysts were our outstanding leaders Gab (captain) and Kim (vice-captain). Gab was awesome with her interceptions, loose ball gets, and rebounds. Kim was relentless with her hustle and bustle, and great desperation for the ball.
Final score: Garville 57, Tango 38.
Best: Alli Evans, Jordie Harrison, Gab Stengle, Kim Wade.