UJ finished their Varsity Netball campaign on a winning note with a 55-50 victory over Maties in Stellenbosch.
The result sees the Johannesburg side finish in fifth position in the inaugural competition, whilst hosts Maties had to settle for sixth.
The match was hard-fought from the outset, as both teams looked to grab the early ascendency. UJ managed to get their noses in front thanks to some good composure on attack as Maties were forced to chase the game.
The home side had the crowd behind them, and they worked their socks off to fight back and level matters late in the first period although UJ did take a slender 11-10 lead into the first break.
The visitors came out firing at the start of the second period and built up a handy four-goal buffer as Maties found themselves playing catch-up once more.
However, the Stellenbosch side refused to drop their heads despite being clearly physically drained from their intense clash with UP-Tuks on Sunday, and managed to keep themselves in the game thanks to some accurate shooting from Lizanne Visser.
Maties took the Samsung powerplay in an effort to reduce the gap, but UJ managed to keep them in check and took a 29-24 lead into the half-time break.
Both teams brought some fresh legs on in the second half in an attempt to lift the tempo, and it was UJ that benfitted most as they pushed their advantage out to ten goals.
With that cushion in place the match was UJ’s to lose, and they did well to keep control of possession to frustrate the determined Maties outfit.
The home side suffered a further blow when Visser went off with a back injury, but they managed to stay within touching distance and trailed 42-38 at the last break.
To their credit, Maties fought hard right until the final whistle but it was not enough to overhaul UJ.
