NDNA 2025: Olympics and Pingelly mid-season clash ends in high-scoring draw

Last Friday night in the Narrogin and Districts Netball Association it was a tightly contested A1 match between the newly promoted Olympics and bottom-placed Pingelly for their first meeting of 2025.

With players missing from both line-ups, it was going to be a captivating game.

The first quarter had Pingelly defender Caris Cunningham starting in goal attack, where she combined with seasoned goal shooter Gabbi Sturtridge.

Down the other end, the dynamic shooting duo of Claire Conlan and Helen Wyatt for Olympics Gold were combining well, providing a headache for Pingelly’s mother-daughter defence combination of Jodie and Shannon Marshall.

Despite their new shooting combination, Pingelly scored strongly and took 16-14 lead at quarter-time.

Olympics fought back hard in the second quarter, with the addition of late-in Milla Curtis taking the goal defence bib, and giving mid-court players Tenisha Harper, Lee Conlan, and Jo Annear good service coming down the court.

Both sides competed well and by half-time Olympics had gone ahead by one goal.

In the second half Olympics consolidated this lead with excellent shooting from Wyatt and Claire Conlan, outscoring Pingelly by three goals in the third quarter to lead 45-41 at three-quarter-time.

Pingelly were not to be denied however, scoring six of the first seven goals of the quarter to regain the lead, thanks to Cunningham and Sturtridge making life difficult for Olympics’ Curtis and goalkeeper Harley Heywood.

The remainder of the quarter was a see-sawing affair, with neither side able to gain more than a one-goal advantage, with the final whistle blowing with scores level at 54-all.

Umpire votes went to Sturtridge and Hodges from Pingelly, with Claire Conlan getting the nod from Olympics.