THERE were some close match ups in round eight of the South West District Netball League competition on Saturday with Cavendish, Tyrendarra and Dartmoor recording wins.

The Darras managed to close out a hard-fought match against Westerns winning 56-37.

It was a fast start from the Roos with Brooke Polaski leading the attacking end in wing attack while Ruby Church and Sienna Stone provided strong targets in the circle.

Tyrendarra responded in the second and third quarters with defenders Andrea Smith and Matilda Hutchison adjusting to win some ball back to push the margin out to 20 goals.

An impressive surge in the final term saw Westerns match the scoreline but it wasn’t enough to close in on the margin.

While it was a 19-goal win for the Darras it was a closely contested game with Tyrendarra co-coach Hannah Van Gemst happy with how her team closed the match out.

“It was a tough game but in the end we were happy with the result and some of the resilience the girls showed,” she said.

“It's great to come up against teams like Westerns who have some different defensive set ups and work through it and work through the ebbs and flows of the game.

“Our defensive unit was great today, they had to adapt to different shooters all game and they worked really hard to win ball back for us in there - our co-captain Andrea (Smith) was great, she really led from the front.

“We've been working on getting a good start, our last two games we have come out a bit slower than we would have liked but all the players are really accountable in problem-solving when things aren't working for us, so we'll keep building on that.”

Cavendish close out against Coleraine

Cavendish secured a close win at the Maroons’ home court on Saturday, 53-48.

A strong start for the Bloods put them nine goals ahead at half time, but Coleraine hit back in the third term to bring the margin back to just three goals heading into the final quarter.

A balanced attacking end was a highlight for Cavendish with Carly Behncke scoring 26 goals while Marni Luhrs hit 27.

In Coleraine’s attacking end they continue to capitalise on the strong hold of Amy Lewis who slotted 35 goals in combination with Holly Langley and Jess Marshall.

Saturday’s win keeps the Bloods in third place while Coleraine sit two games behind in fourth place.

Coleraine midcourter Sinead Lambert was awarded their best while Alicia Peters was named in the best for Cavendish.

Giants finish strong against Heywood

Despite a solid first half from Heywood, Dartmoor put their foot down in the second half to run out with a 51-29 win on Saturday.

The Lions came out firing on Saturday with their first quarter efforts matching Dartmoor to sit 9-all at quarter time.

Both sides were missing some key players on court, forcing a lot of changes throughout the game.

In the second quarter Dartmoor was able to win some ball back through the midcourt and convert on their opportunities to gain an eight-goal lead.

A third-quarter surge from the Giants saw them dominate across the court and shut down Heywood’s ability to convert, pushing their lead out to 18 heading into the final quarter.

Both sides found some solid transition in the final term but Dartmoor held onto their lead to secure the game.

Jess Lovett-Murray was a standout for Heywood while Dartmoor centre Bec Vankalken continued to dominate through the midcourt.