Adelaide – The Australian Diamonds continued to showcase their dominance over the visiting SPAR Proteas with a 65 -42 victory.
The third Test win down under secured a whitewash series for the Diamonds as they glittered in Adelaide on Sunday, 12 October 2025.
Coming into the final game, the SPAR Proteas tried hard to put the disappointment of the previous match in Wollongong behind them.
However, the Aussie Diamonds, having already clinched the series, were beaming with confidence.
Even though the South Africans started off very strongly, it was the world champs that pulled away in the last three minutes, scoring seven goals with no response.
The Aussie Diamonds took the quarter 20 – 11.
In the second quarter, the SPAR Proteas fared a bit better, using speed to their advantage, but the Australians were not sitting back either.
Trying to reduce the deficit, SPAR Proteas Head Coach Jenny van Dyk made two tactical changes mid-quarter.
She brought in Owethu Ngubane for Kamogelo Masego, and Juanita van Tonder made her debut, replacing Nicola Smith as a goalkeeper.
The balance of play remained the same.
Needless to mention, Australia’s dominance and experience continued to show, taking the quarter 19 – 9.
The hosts led 39 – 20 at halftime.
For the championship quarter, Van Dyk made a few more changes to the SPAR Proteas team, with Rolene Streutker and Refiloe Nketsa taking court.
SPAR Proteas held their own and took the quarter 12 -10; however, this was not enough as Australia still enjoyed a 49 – 32 lead.
The SPAR Proteas put up a brave fight in the final quarter, but a dominant and physical display by the Aussie Diamonds saw them score 16 goals to 10 in the last 15 minutes.
In the end, the world champions secured an impressive 65-42 victory.
Commenting on the game, SPAR Proteas Head Coach Van Dyk said: “Firstly, we would like to congratulate Australia on their fantastic performance.
“Coming back to us, I believe that there were moments that I think we were right on point and doing a great job on attacks, mostly.
“We have a lot of work that lies ahead of us; we still have a lot to do.
“We are looking forward to getting back home and starting to work on areas of improvement”.
Van Dyk said the technical team had identified areas that the SPAR Proteas could improve, but they did not expect any quick fixes and anticipated that it would take a lot of work.
“A lot of our identified areas of improvement need a lot of work and not quick fixes,” explained Van Dyk
“This is something that we need to work on and drill into our players.
“We learnt a lot about our players, where they are strong, how they adapt, and how we need to manage them.
“This series was a big eye opener for us, a big learning experience and exercise as well.”
Quarter Score Breakdown
- Q1: SPAR Proteas 11 – 20 Aussie Diamonds
- Q2: SPAR Proteas 20 – 39 Aussie Diamonds
- Q3: SPAR Proteas 32 -49 Aussie Diamonds
- Q4: SPAR Proteas 42 – 65 Aussie Diamonds
SPAR Proteas Starting XII
GS – Elmere van der Berg; GA – Kamogelo Maseko; WA – Khanyisa Chawane (C); C- Tarle Mathe; WD – Shadine van der Merwe; GD – Sanmarie Visser; GK Nicola Smith
Shooting Stats:
Elmere van der Berg 20/21 (91%)
Kamogelo Maseko 4/4 (100%)
Owethu Ngubane 3/6 (50%)
Rolene Streukter 15/22 (68%)
