The Malawi queens lost 33 – 43 in the KwaZulu-Natal Diamond Challenge at the Ugu Sports Centre in Gamalakhe, Margate, on Wednesday to arch-rivals South African Spar Proteas who have hired Australian World Cup-winning coach Norma Plummer as their new head coach.
South Africa took control of the match from the start. Lenize Potgieter was on fire as goalshooter, netting the ball with almost every attempt, including a shot on the run as she passed the post. Captain Maryka Holtzhausen was also effective with shots from the edge of the circle.
At the other end of the court, goalkeeper Adele Niemand and goal attack Karla Mostert did sterling work in defence, with Niemand in particular achieving a number of intercepts and turn-overs.
The match was very fast and very physical, with players on both sides blown up for over-enthusiastic contact. Bongi Msomi, playing wing attack, moved like lightning, driving the ball to her circle, while Izette Lubbe did a good job at centre before she had to leave the court with a wrist injury.
The Malawi Queens never had a lead in the Match at anytime as the Proteas maintained their lead throughout the match, and won every quarter. At halftime they were 22-16 ahead, and the worst quarter was the third, which they lost by 11 goals to eight.
It was sweet revenge for the Proteas, who lost to the Malawi Queens at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last year. Malawi are the top-ranked African team, at fifth in the world, while the Proteas are ranked sixth.
The South African coach Plummer said she had seen an improvement in the Proteas’ performance since Tuesday when they beat Zambia 63-38.
Malawi Queens must now beat Zambia today to finish as runners-up in the preliminary round in order to qualify and possibly face South Africa again on Friday to determine the champions.
