Bridgwater

The season ran long this year, heading into May, but that meant there was still plenty of netball left to play. As we moved into April, Jupiter were contending against all 3 of the other teams battling it out for a higher finish, Saturn were determined to keep their high position in Division 1, whilst Neptune and Venus played to maintain their midtable positions.

Jupiter

The only team to play on the first weekend of April, Jupiter travelled to Paulton to play Vipers, knowiing this was a crucial game they needed to win to avoid relegation, Jupiter had a goal of gaining the 5 points- and preventing their opposition from gaining any. The team united, all playing a role, with a Jupiter debut for Bryony and Sally and Rhiannon pitching in as always, Jupiter succeeded in their goal, giving the team the drive for the following weekend against Wyndham.

Wyndham had been on a winning streak in recent games, Jupiter knew it was going to be tricky! The game went end to end, goal for goal, for the whole 60 minutes. Despite the struggle, Jupiter were determined to keep their one goal lead with a minute to go, defensive pressure picked off the turnover at the right moment, allowing the team to keep possession into the dying seconds of the game, and win by one goal!

The penultimate game of the season saw Jupiter play Tomahawks in their penultimate game of the season, Jupiter had a goal of gaining the point for half- with Tomahawks not having lost a game all season. With three members of the team already having played, brunch at Cath's gave the team a boost of energy. The return of Ellie to the squad that had played Vipers meant theirshooting options were bolstered- after a slow start to the game and missing both of their normal centre options, tactical changes meant circle defensive changed into centre court, and a few more positional swaps, this changed the dynamic and allowed Jupiter to succeed in their goal. 

The final game of the season against Harlequins the Jupiter squad returned to a full line up, the third game to the area in the month Jupiter knew the court well. The game was close the whole way through, and once the team settled they pushed Harlequins to their limits, hwoever the side was too strong and the team lost of by just 6 goals! Their end to the season, and the fact they scored at least one point in every game, with over half their matches being within 10 goals shows how far they have come as a team, and we can't wait to see what they do next season!

Saturn

Saturn had their first game of the final stretch of the season at Yeovil against Panthers, missing the wisdom and captaincy of Hazel and with Rhiannon playing for Jupiter on the court nextdoor, the team struggled to find flow. They went goal for goal for a majority of the game, mirroring the Jupiter game being played at the same time. Panthers experience as a team allowed them to get the win but Saturn played with great determination going into their next match.

Newbarn was the next team Saturn would face, which would be their penultimate game of the season, with their squad of eight seeing the return of Rhiannon and Hazel to the side and a regular call up for Liza, Saturn knew their game against Newbarn was going to be strong. The defence of Sally, Maddie and Tilly put pressure on the opposition from the off, later in the game further pressure from Liza allowed Saturn to pick up even more ball. Eve, Hazel and Bryony fed the ball through the court seamlessly to shooters Rhiannon and Alicia, who were sinking shots on the sunny day (after making sure the post was the correct height!). The Saturn team pulled away and went on a high into their final game of the season against Sharks. 

Saturn's final game saw a different line up to normal, however this didn't stop them from playing the ball to goal time and time again, big thanks to Emily for taking to the court in the Div 1 game! The whole team really pulled together to push the experienced Sharks side all the way to the end of the game, allowing them to finish on a high and secure a top half the table finish!

Neptune

Neptune played their first game of the final stretch against Pumas, with some of the team unavialable but key players Thea and Hayley stepping into the team, Neptune managed to have a cracking game against the Wildcatz side, play flowed down the court aided by Millie and Maisey, whilst the defensive pressure allowed for turnovers, and pin point accuracy from all the shooters resulted in a win in the sun at Yeovil!

Neptune then went on to play what they knew would be one of their most difficult games of the season, with many of the team having already played up for Saturn or played for their own team Venus, Neptune knew the experienced Walton would use this to their strengths. There were some great elements of play, but errors from the side couldn't convert the ball to goal, resulting in a loss in their penultimate game. 

It was a similar story for the Neptune team that played Dolphins a couple weeks later, a rearranged game from central venue, the club had many players unavailable due to prior commitment in the day. However this did not stop the team giving it their all, Dolphins only managed to pull a couple goals away each quarter and a flurry of goals at the end of the game resulted in a loss for Neptune. However, the development this team has shown through the season has been astounding and the future looks bright for many of these players. 

Venus

With a flurry of cancelations by opposition this season, Venus have had a few less games than the rest, their determination to improve and the addition of more experienced players has allowed for some brilliant development in recent months. Having two strong games left to finish the season, both that were rearranged, Venus knew they would be difficult wins, but worked together to put their all out on the court.

Their game against Darts proved how strong of a team theyy could be, with 8 players and two injuries rotating around the team, Helen and Cath had to rotate to ensure that the team always had 7 players. The defensive pressure from the side as well as through court play from Grace, Tilly and Jayne, took the ball to goal, allowing them to keep in close contention up through the game. The final quarter saw injuries pushed to the max, this allowed Darts to take a turnover here or there, pulling away slightly from Venus. Venus can be proud of their performance- losing by only 4 goals in the final quarter. 

Venus' last game of the season was not the high we would have liked ot end on, not due to the game but the weather! It's not often that we should complain that it was too hot (especially as this game was rearranged due to snow!), but with two players having to be taken off the court and others moved out of position to combat the heat, it is safe to say Venus's last game had two opposition. The team pushed until the very end, after a slow start, despite their fatigue managed to pull the game back to within half- an amazing feat for the day! We look forward to seeing what all these played can do next season. 

BNC Debuts

The season normally sees our club have many of our junior players take to the court for the first time, we pride ourselves on allowing many of them to make that transition to the senior league. This season has been a little different, with our senior section already being so full, we haven't had as many juniors take the court this season, but those who have have shown so much improvement over the season, in their play, confidence and the way they have transferred their abilities to the junior league. Congratulations to the following junior players who made their senior debuts for BNC this season:

Grace Bryant (U14)

Sophia Miller (U16)

Olivia Villis (U15)

Grace Palmer (U16)

Esme Jarman (U14)

We have also had a number of senior debuts this season, it's always a pleasure when anyone joins our netball family, so a big thank you for the following players for playing for BNC this season:

Rhiannon Crabtree

Millie Hyde

Hayley Rooks

Finally, it's always lovely to see a familiar face return to the court after injury in previous seasons, so congratulations to both Jayne and Ashlea for making their returns to court this year.