After two narrow defeats at the hands of Glenthompson-Dunkeld and Wickliffe-Lake Bolac, Moyston-Willaura came out firing in their round nine clash against Tatyoon but fell just short of a win at the final whistle.
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The Pumas defensive line-up of Melinda Beal and Katie Mcdonald applied the pressure early against Tatyoon’s Maggie Astbury and Alex Antonio, holding well and rebounding strongly to limit the Hawks to 11 goals for the term while their own shooters managed to score 16to take a five-goal lead into quarter time.
In response, the Hawks made several changes in defense for the second quarter, including bringing on Laura McDougall who made an impact at wing defense which settled the team on the court..
The Pumas managed only five goals in the second term, as the Hawks fought back to get within a goal of Moyston-Willaura at half time.
In an effort to wrestle back the momentum, the Pumas brought Jacqueline Scott in at wing attack and moved Chloe Dunmore in to goal attack for the third term.
Slightly better accuracy on the part of the Hawks allowed them to take the lead for the first time in the match in the third term and they headed into the last change of ends one goal ahead in what was set to be a see-sawing final term.
The Hawks experience in tight games was valuable in a fast-paced final quarter and although their accuracy in the goal ring wasn’t ideal at 48 per cent, they managed to find 11 more scoring opportunities compared to the Pumas seven goals from eight attempts and finished three goals ahead at the final whistle, 41-38.
Both Hawks shooters took a balance approach with Astbury and Antonio both spreading the load with the latter scoring 20, one less than her her experienced teammate.
Dunmore’s positional change worked, as she top-scored for the Pumas with 14 goals – all scored in the second half.
Defenders McDonald and Beal were named the Pumas best players for the game while Astbury and McDougall were named Tatyoon’s best in the round nine match-up.
The victory puts the Hawks in outright second position, a game clear of Penshurst in third and one game behind undefeated Woorndoo-Mortlake.
Moyston-Willaura remain outside the top five, in seventh position.
The Pumas need to make up eight points before finals if they are to get into the top five and qualify.
