It was a joyous celebration for Dundee High School as they were crowned champions of the KZN Northern Regional at the SPAR KZN Schoolgirl’s Fast 5s Netball Challenge that took place at Ferrum High School on Saturday 27 August.

 
Dundee met Vryheid’s hard-working Pionier Hoërskool in the regional final that concluded with Dundee netting 10 points to Pionier’s 7. 
 
Pionier got the final underway with Cay-Li Birkenstock scoring the game’s first goal just 22 seconds in. 19 seconds later, Thandolwethu Buthelezi equalised at the other end for Dundee. The first quarter of the final ping-ponged between the two poles, with Pionier powering down their favoured left side and scoring then Dundee sending play right back up and equalising. 

Nearing 4 minutes left in the first half, Dundee missed their chance to equalise giving Pionier the edge with the scoreline sitting at 4-3. Birkenstock adding two more to her tally and Simone van Jaarsveld getting her name on the scorers’ card. Both teams went into a dry spell with attempts on either end frustratingly hitting the rim or being intercepted. 
 
Dundee broke the spell with 99 seconds left of the half as Buthelezi snatched the ball mid-air with her long right arm, and calmly popped the ball through the hoop, levelling the score at 4 all. Ninety seconds later, she again conjured up a one-handed mid-air retrieval and confidently deposited the ball through the hoop for her, and Dundee’s fifth goal. 
 
Pionier opened up the second half with van Jaarsveld earning her team’s fifth, 87 seconds in. Pionier dominated the next 90 seconds of play with several bursts up to Dundee’s goals but were unable to find the centre of hoop. Dundee’s Buthelezi got another opportunity taking the lead again, and 50 seconds later she added another point for her team. With just over 3 minutes until the final whistle, Mele Erlank managed to net Pionier’s sixth goal to Dundee’s seven. 
 
Two quick fire goals by Buthelezi saw the Dundee girls get a bounce in their step as their confidence began to soar. Captain for Dundee, Zinita Oosthuizen upped her game at the back, with two towering challenges as she leapt into the air, solidly knocking down Pionier’s looping attempts. Erlank managed to find a gap and net her second taking Pionier’s final score to 7, while Dundee wrapped up the game with 10 points, all scored by Buthelezi.
 
Dundee’s Oosthuizen said after the game, “The final was very challenging, Pionier are a tough team to beat but we are thankful that we had the ability to play against them and took the win. I am so blessed to have a team like mine.”
 
In their earlier round robin meeting, an undefeated Pionier took the win in a low scoring game 4 to 1. 
 
Coach for Dundee, Smangaye Nkwanyana stated, “Today was hard, we came into the tournament being slightly unfit as our season had wrapped up and the girls have been concentrating on exams, but all in all we are happy. Taking on Pionier again, having lost to them in the round robin, was tough. We were nervous going in but dug deep and did our best with our youngest in the team, 15 year old Thandolwethu doing so well.”
 
The fifth regional heads down to Kokstad College for the KZN Southern Regional on Saturday 10 September. All games will be live streamed on the SuperSport Schools mobile app or their website. 
 
Medal Game
1 Dundee High School, 2 Pionier Hoërskool
 
Round Robin Results
1 Pionier Hoërskool 21 points, 2 Dundee High School 18 points, 3 Ferrum High School 15 points, 4 Newcastle High School 10 points, 5 Sarel Cilliers School 9 points, 6 Amajuba District School 4 points, 7 Amajuba School 3 points, 8 St Dominic’s 2 points

Photo Credit: Val Adamson