Nationwide C showed just why they are fighting it out at the top of the Swindon District Netball League Division Five with a 48-36 victory over Wootton Bassett.

But while the scoreline suggests a comprehensive victory, Bassett proved they have come a long way after losing 51-17 when the two sides last met in November.

From the outset Nationwide attacked hard and managed to push to a 13-6 lead after the first quarter, but Bassett came back into it in the second as they proved a tougher nut to crack.

Some good shooting from Kath Young and Charlie Giles saw them convert both their centres and intercepts into goals, and good work from captain Caroline Beard and Holly Woodbridge kept the chances coming.

Sally O’Donnell soldiered on despite suffering with injury, and along with Shirley Legge and Dawn Robbins defended well to help Bassett to close the gap to 21-18 at the end of the second.

But in the second half Nationwide proved why they are second in the league table with some good attacking play and sharp intercepts, which helped them stretch their lead to 35-28 at the end of the third quarter.

In the final quarter some good long range shooting by Young and Giles kept Bassett looking like they could pull it back, but ultimately were beaten by a stronger Nationwide team.

Abbey Meads battled hard to beat Croft C 41-24 in Division Four.

Croft C started strong and dominated most of the first quarter by getting in an early two point lead, but Abbey fought back to equalise and from then on it was a close game.

All three first quarters ended closely, and the Croft attack were on great form with their goal shooter hardly missing.

However, the Abbey attack were persistent and managed to hold on to the majority of position for most of the game, and after a quick power talk going in to the final quarter, they managed to pull away to secure the win.