NMMU fightback in vain as Tuks prevail in netball thriller

NMMU suffered their first-ever Varsity Netball defeat when they went down 45-44 to UP-Tuks at NMMU's Indoor Sports Centre last night.

The Eastern Cape side won their first three games at home, but came up agonisingly short against the Pretoria outfit.

It was a tense affair between two very evenly-matched teams from the start, and they traded blows in the opening stanza with Tuks taking a narrow 9-11 lead into the break.

The home side fought back valiantly in the second period and had grabbed a 23-20 lead by halftime in an enthralling match.

However, the visitors hit back in the third quarter as the lead continued to change hands, and it was Tuks who took a 36-30 advantage into the final period with the match on the line.

Both sides threw absolutely everything at each other in a dramatic final period and it was Tuks who held their nerve best to squeeze out a narrow victory.

NMMU travel to Potchefstroom next week for their first away game against log-leaders NWU-Pukke and Tuks will host UJ in Pretoria.

• UFS Kovsies recorded a resounding 71-36 victory over UJ in their Varsity Netball clash in Bloemfontein.

A blitz of scoring just after halftime between the teams saw the Free State side cruise to a comfortable bonus-point victory in the end, with UJ left in their wake.

However, the Johannesburg side regrouped well and managed to win the second quarter to narrow the gap to 28-22 by half-time.

Kovsies came out firing after half-time and took good advantage of their powerplay to stamp their authority on the match as they took a big 52-28 lead into the final quarter.

They continued their dominance right until the final whistle, and UJ could only manage eight goals in the last period as they fell short of a consolation bonus point.