Lincoln City 51- Grasshoppers 34

This week Grasshoppers faced Lincoln City in the East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 2.

Both teams made a good start in the first quarter, with some great interceptions by the Grasshoppers defence and some great conversions in the shooting circle. This led to the first quarter ending 11-9 to Lincoln.

Nottingham Knights starting line-up: Sophie Artley (GS), Fiona Hale (GA), Katie Cresswell (WA), Daniella Gatt (C), Samantha Carter (WD), Justine Drury (GD), Zoie Aiken (GK).

Nottingham Knights played Loughborough-based Charnwood Sapphires in their latest East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 1 game on 27th October 2013. Charnwood Sapphires, who were promoted in the Division 2 playoffs at the end of last season alongside the Knights, had lost to the Nottingham-based team in their last two league encounters and came out fighting with a strong defence and determined pace. However the Knights, who wanted to maintain their unbeaten record against the Sapphires, were able to finish the quarter two points ahead of Charnwood (12-10).

Falcons Yellow loses out to Hinckley Hurricanes in a fast paced, high scoring match.

Falcons Yellow came out of the blocks ready to played hard and earn themselves another win but Hinckley Hurricanes stood in their way and were determined to make them work for it.

The squad for today’s match – Alex Wood-Davis (GS), Keri Moorhouse (GA) Melanie Brennan (WA), Emma Davis (C), Tamsin Mason (WD) , Samantha Brown (GD) and Jo Holt (WA). Weller Howard and Connie Xavier were on the bench.

Lincoln made it four wins out of four games on Sunday with a win over Leicestershire’s Grasshoppers.

With Lucy Heathershaw, Angie White and Laura Forsey absent and injured, Lincoln welcomed back Becky Baker and Amy Womersley into the team.

After last week’s reshuffle, Jade Houlton retuned to defence to work alongside Lizzie Saywell, which allowed Amy Wormersley to join Anna Gilbert further up the court.

It was a tight first quarter as Lincoln struggled to feed the ball into their attack. However they edged ahead to take a two goal lead: 11-9.

Iceni are beginning to show their experience this season by comfortably winning their latest East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 2 game against Northants JMs 28-49.

Although Northants JMs put up a great fight it didn't stop Iceni dominating the game. The Derbyshire-based team put in an all-round strong performance in both attack and defence and won every quarter. Great shooting by Iceni’s Katie Austin (GA) meant that she was nominated as the Player of the Match.

Having lost the opening two matches in the East Midlands Netball Regional League, Division 1, newly promoted Charnwood Sapphires faced top of the table Hinckley Hurricanes.

A tight first quarter saw Hinckley lead by one goal, 13 - 12, at the break.

Nottingham Knights won their latest East Midlands Netball Regional League Division 1 rescheduled fixture against Pennine on 16th October 2013. This convincing win was a confidence boost to the Knights after securing their place in the top division after winning the playoffs at the end of last season. Nottingham Knights took the lead early on and had an eight-goal lead at quarter time (12-4). Pennine strengthened in the second quarter, narrowed the gap and won the quarter 8-9, bringing the score to 20-13. The Knights responded to this in the second half with a solid defensive performance that debilitated Pennine’s attacking efforts and led to a consistent conversion of turnovers. This resulted in the Nottingham team winning the quarter 15-3 (35-16 overall) and winning the match 44-22, allowing Pennine to secure one point from the game. A promising start for Nottingham Knights in Division 1!

Falcons Yellow stepped on court ready to battle again and a battle it was until the final whistle. The starting line-up was the winning team from last week - Alex Wood-Davis (GS), Kerri Moorhouse (GA), Jo Holt (WA), Mel Brennan (C), Tamsin Mason (WD), Samantha Brown (GD), Beth Jackson (GK) with Rebecca Simms and Connie Xavier on the bench.

The game started with Knights scoring first. Falcons Yellow came back with a turnover though. Some great defensive work from Brown, Mason and Jackson was on display, whilst at the other end of the court and following great feeds from both Holt and Brennan, excellent shooting from Wood-Davis and Moorhouse was also witnessed.