Gżira Athleta  53
Depiro 43

(13-16, 14-7, 8-6, 18-14)

Athleta claimed the women’s St James Hospital Shield for the first time after having the better of Depiro.

After a tit-for-tat first quarter, Athleta opened a narrow lead and from then on succeeded in keeping their noses in front with their duo Amelia Simmons and Christina Grima leading the group despite Shameeka Murray’s points for Depiro.

The third quarter was a low-scoring affair – 14 points in total on both sides. Then, a significant 11-0 Athleta run all but decided the issue with just three minutes to go.

Yet, Depiro suddenly found their mark and hit back with 10 straight points, including two treys from Gabriella Mifsud, with only 60 seconds remaining on the clock.

Depiro sought quick fouls to regain possession but Athleta were quite accurate from the foul line with five from six free-shots including the final two from captain Leanne Sciberras.

Athleta: C. Grima 13, M. Pollacco, S. Pisani, L. Sciberras 12, A. Simmons 14, D. Said Hollier 5, A. Borg 7, J. Schembri, S. Vella 2, E. Pace, C. Mifsud.

Depiro: A. Mifsud, G. Mifsud 12, N. Agius, S. Brincat 7, M. Bonett 5, C. Camilleri 2, S. Murray 9, M. Scicluna, M. Micallef, H. Acreman, T. DeMartino 4, C. Ciantar 4.

Referees: G. Barbara, I. Marjanovic.

Comments

Ruth Spiteri (Athleta coach): “It was a balanced match. I think we won the game in defence mainly as Depiro struggled to beat our 1-2-2 zone.

“I thank the girls for their effort.”

Zeina Hemedan (Depiro coach): “Gżira Athleta were the better team on the day and deserved to win.

“Unfortunately, we only managed an average performance and we also committed a series of mistakes that ultimately cost us the game.”