The SPAR Proteas wrapped up a 3-0 clean sweep against Malawi with a 69-24 victory over their African rivals in the final Test of the SPAR Challenge netball series at Ellis Park Arena on Sunday.
The 45-goal winning margin was the largest of the series, being hosted by the City of Johannesburg, with the home side having won the first Test by 37 goals and the second by 31.
The South African coaching team once again switched things up in the starting lineup for the third clash with goal shooter Ine-Marie Venter taking to the court for the first time in the series. Nichole Breedt returned after her first-Test appearance at wing attack. This time she looked far more comfortable at goal attack, although it took some time for the shooting circle to settle – Venter missing her first two attempts before slotting one in.
Unlike Saturday’s Test, where a tight first quarter ended with the teams level on 13-13, the SPAR Proteas took control of Sunday’s match from early on, surging to 16-7 by the end of the period and not looking back.
While Thandie Galeta impressed at wing attack for the Malawi Queens, the rest of the side struggled, slowing things down and taking their time in attack but making little impact. South Africa’s defensive pairing of goalkeeper Nicola Smith and goal defence Karla Pretorious made it even tougher going for the visitors, restricting them to just four goals in the second quarter to reach half time 31-11 up.
At the start of the third quarter, Venter and Breedt were replaced by Owethu Ngubane and Kamogelo Maseko who proved to be a better combination in the circle, while Jamie van Wyk came on for Boitumelo Mahloko at wing defence. The SPAR Proteas continued to dominate, scoring 19 goals in the third quarter to reach the final break 50-19 up and then adding another 19 in the final period.
The Malawians attempted to run down the clock in the final minute to prevent the home side from passing the 70-goal mark – their highest score in the series to that point had been 69 – and while they may have succeeded in keeping the South Africans to 69 goals in this match, they couldn’t prevent their largest defeat of the series with the score on 69-24.
SPAR Proteas captain Kanyisa Chawane praised her team for a commanding performance in the series, saying: “I’m really happy with how we went about this whole series, how we started and how we finished.
“As much as the coaches did look for more consistency, I think we did climb up each and every game and really improved. I’m really impressed with the group because every combination that the coach decided to put on, we were there for one another and really played well and supported one another.”
Head Coach Jenny van Dyk said while there is still plenty to work on, the team will, for now, be celebrating accomplishing their mission to secure a convincing series clean sweep.
“It was great score-wise. I was very pleased with the final result,” she said. “At this stage, it’s important for us to enjoy the moment. We’ve got a 3-0 victory over Malawi on our first run and we’ve tested quite a lot of different combinations and we’ve put all our players to the Test.
Meanwhile, after several impressive performances at goal attack, South Africa’s Kamogelo Maseko was named as the Player of the Tournament. The 22-year-old said afterwards that she was pleased with her own performances and that there had been plenty of learnings as a team.
“We learnt a lot about ourselves,” she said afterwards. “Malawi offered a different style of play every match so it was just about adapting but also not derailing from the game plan.
“This Test series helped us set our own standards as a team and to just see where we are as a unit,” she added.
Malawi coach Joanna Kachilika admitted her first series in charge has been a tough one, but that there were positives she could take from the matches.
“This is not what we planned as a team but losing the three games has had a positive impact for our team. We’ve seen our weaknesses and what we will be working on as we go back to Malawi and prepare for the African Championships so that we can improve,” she said.
Earlier in the day, South Africa’s men had to once again fight their way back from a first-quarter deficit to beat Zimbabwe’s men 49-40 in the curtain-raiser match and so also complete a 3-0 series clean sweep
SPAR Proteas vs Malawi 3rd Test
Q1: 16-7
Q2: 31-11 (15-4)
Q3: 50-19 (19-8)
Q4: 69-24 (19-5)
Most Valuable Player: Refiloe Nketsa (RSA)
Player awards:
Best shooter: Elmeré van Berg (RSA)
Best centre: Thandie Galeta (MAW)
Best defender: Karla Pretorius (RSA)
Player of the Tournament: Kamogelo Maseko (RSA)
South Africa men vs Zimbabwe men 3rd Test
Q1: 9-14
Q2: 22-18 (13-4)
Q3: 35-29 (13-11)
Q4: 49-40 (14-11)
INFO SUPPLIED.
