NWU Pukke and Maties were involved in a classic Varsity Netball encounter at the SANDF Kopanelo Arena this past Monday when the lights went out on the players, fans and organisers.

NWU Pukke led 34-32 with five minutes left in the third quarter when the match abruptly ended. This unfortunate interruption diminished the sparkling contest that was balanced on a knife’s edge.

The Varsity Sports executive committee, in consultation with the affected teams, were in talks on Tuesday and decided to declare the game between Maties and NWU-Pukke a draw, according to Duitser Bosman, CEO of Varsity Sports. In hindsight, a rematch would have been the preferred option for both teams as a win (4 points) or an extra bonus point could have been on the cards. The teams will now each receive two points for the draw.

This leaves NWU Pukke on 7 points in fifth position while Maties are on 8 points in fourth place. The University of Stellenbosch’s Nelandré Mostert was in fine form as she put NWU Pukke under early pressure with great shooting.

It was tooth and nail, though, as Pukke and Maties kept at it, exchanging hoops regularly. Pukke’s centre, Mandolene Hermanus, had a great match and regularly fed Renske Stolz and Kifiloe Tsotetsi great passes from which to score.

Maties’ Sasha-Lee Petersen impressed in the middle of the court and frustrated Pukke from the start of the second half.Pukke’s Stolz was also on top of her game, especially when Sigi Burger took up the shooter position. The powerplay was called and Pukke took advantage as each goal now counted two points, which took them from a  three point deficit into a three point lead.

It was an absolutely electric two minutes that had the crowd going. The score stood at 34-32 and then Eskom ruined the party. “There is still a long way to go in the tournament and, despite not getting a win, we showed a lot of character,” said Heléne Botha, manager of women’s sport at NWU Pukke. NWU Pukke will play their next match against the top of the table UP-Tuks at the Rembrandt Hall in Pretoria this Sunday.

The match starts at 16:00 and will be televised live on Supersport 210. Pukke will also play against VUT at the same venue on Monday in a non-televised match. The first match on Monday night was between UP-Tuks and UJ and lasted the full 60 minutes.

The former ran away with a solid 58-29 win.  Tuks’ Lenize Potgieter and Melissa Myburgh were in great form and will want to continue their good run against Pukke this Sunday.