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Season 08/09 Playoffs
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Play Offs
Play Off C
Loughborough Lightning v Mavericks
6pm - Saturday 28th March 2009
This play off consists of the losing team from play off A versus the winner from play off B.
Sir David Wallace Hall, Loughborough University.
Umpires: Judith Groves and Chris Wilson-Smith, 3rd official Janice Treasure
| Quarter | Scores |
|---|---|
| 1 | 12-21 |
| 2 | 18-22 |
| 3 | 29-27 |
| 4 | 40-40 |
Final Score After Extra-Time:48-49
Mavericks will defend their title against TeamBath in The Co-operative Netball Superleague Grand Final on Saturday 4th April after playing in the match of the season at Loughborough. It went to extra-time, in the end was decided by just the one goal and when the final whistle blew there was disbelief and delight in equal measure. You can watch the game in full on Thursday at 1730 on Sky Sports 3 but if you can't wait til then let me take you through the match.
As is often the case in the opening skirmishes of a game the players are trying to suss each other out. In Loughborough's circle young Alex Kirk settled in very well as Jo Harten was given a hard time by Mavericks keeper Naida Hutchinson. It was the start of a pattern repeated throughout the match as Hutchinson played a blinder. Lightning's shooter must have felt like she was playing against Mr Tickle as when the ball seemed to be safely in her possession somehow Hutchinson's hand was there to take it away. Both teams were very tight in defence throughout the match and coaches watching the replay will see performances of the very highest quality.
In the second quarter Mavericks stepped up the pace which upped the pressure on their hosts who had been taking a thoughtful approach to the game. Physically there was more contact in the second 15 minutes, plenty of jostling for position and possession, with so much at stake it's not surprising that every ball was contested in front of an increasingly excited crowd. The visitors were able to pull ahead largely because their defence were on fire, the turnovers were netted and at half-time it looked like Mavericks were going to pull away.
Whatever Olivia Murphy said to Loughborough at half-time found its mark. Supporters really began getting behind the sides in the third quarter, Mavericks had plenty of back-up travelling with them but it was Lightning's purple-wigged, face-painted fans who were roaring as the match changed direction again in the second half. Their player-coach was always in the right place at the right time and having been 4-goals behind at the whistle they moved level and then ahead for the first time in the match with 3 and a half minutes to go. The momentum had moved in favour of the home side with 15 minutes on the clock.
Loughborough came out on a mission at the start of the last quarter and with less than nine minutes on the clock it looked like they had done enough. They led Mavericks 39-30, surely that was game over a nine-goal lead must be enough to send them to Coventry! Mavericks didn't think so. The atmosphere in the arena was unbelievable hundreds of fans bellowing, stamping, cheering and clapping even for an impartial viewer the tension was palpable I was getting nervous and I don't know why. Goal-by-goal Mavericks hauled their way back into the game, Jo Harten was given no respite by Naida Hutchinson, the ball just wouldn't drop through the hoop for Lightning; Mavericks saw their shots barely touch the side. The semi-final was taken into extra time when the ball left Louisa Brownfield's hands to level just as the whistle marked the end of an hours play.
Loughborough looked stunned but rallied themselves for the extra 7 minutes each-way. You didn't know which way to look, the old cliche of "end-to-end" netball was true, there was nothing to separate the sides and as the toll of 60 minutes of all-out effort began to take its toll it became increasingly painful to watch. Lightning centre Jade Clarke showed how hard the players were pushing, crippled by cramp she fought hard to continue but had to be subsituted and had to be helped off court. Mavericks edged ahead and the whistle blew, and the celebrations started, but it wasn't over. A timing error meant there was still half a minute to play the players came back on court and Loughborough tried to level but when the FINAL final whistle went they were one behind. There were tears and cheers.
Loughborough Lightning Jade Clarke was devastated after the game "I'm sure it was good match for the specators, I'm just heartbroken really. It just felt so good to have that run in the last quarter but no excuses we let it slip and we did the same in the final last year. It's just not acceptable." The captain also revealed that shooter Jo Harten had been at something of a disadvantage in the match, "Jo broke her thumb on Wednesday on her shooting hand, we're so proud of the way she played through the pain."
Mavericks coach Kendra Slawinski "The players did Mavericks proud this evening, they deserve all the credit, they deservea all the accolades and I'm thoroughly delighted for our athletes. Both teams had opportunities and I'm just glad at the end of the day that we took ours and managed the one goal that proved crucial."
So the Grand Final on Saturday 4th April will be contested by TeamBath and reigning champions Mavericks at 1930 at Coventry Skydome. Tickets are on sale now.
Starting Lineup
Loughborough Lightning
GS: Jo Harten
GA: Alex Kirk
WA: Natalie Hampshire
C: Jade Clarke (capt)
WD: Olivia Murphy
GD: Kara Luck
GK: Hannah Reid
Mavericks
GS: Louisa Brownfield
GA: Ella Clark
WA: Gemma Wiseman
C: Karen Atkinson (capt)
WD: Steph Bello
GD: Hazel Schofield
GK: Naida Hutchinson
Play Offs A & B - Monday 23rd March and Saturday 21st March 2009
This is made up of the franchises who finish in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the league table after completion of Round 16.
A - 1 v 2 - TeamBath 62 v Loughborough Lightning 55 - Monday 23rd March 2009 Time: 7:30pm
TEAMBATH V LOUGHBOROUGH LIGHTNING
Venue: Sports Hall, University of Bath,
Time: 1930, Monday 23rd March, 2009
TV: Sky Sports Xtra 1800, Thursday 26th March (repeated at 0000)
Umpires: Gary Burgess and Tracey Smith with Kim Lumley as 3rd Official.
| Quarter | Score |
|---|---|
| 1 | 15-14 |
| 2 | 31-28 |
| 3 | 44-42 |
| 4 | 62-55 |
FULL TIME: Team Bath 62 Loughborough Lightning 55
When these sides met here earlier this month in The Co-operative Netball Superleague it was a close run thing; the type of match the watch could decide by ticking on enough to give one team the centre pass, but not long enough to let them net the ball.TeamBath were only 2 goals better then having won by 11 goals in Loughborough in the first half of the season.Coming into tonight's game Lightning must have been convinced that the "Invincibles" could lose.
TeamBath's plan as they headed out on court was to win every quarter of the match but they had to come from behind in the first where the visitors had a 3 goal advantage 3 minutes into the match. Winning the toss can give a real pyschological advantage and Loughborough powered out pressurizing TeamBath into a couple of errors. But Eboni Beckford-Chambers, starting in the GK bib was ready to go and leapt to great heights to tip possession out of Jo Harten's hands. Defensively Bath were keeping the shooter and Alex Kirk away from the posts but both were comfortably taking aim from further away. Ten minutes of the quarter to play and the teams were level again and back on centre passes, Loughborough weren't able to pull away this time and with just over three minutes on the clock Bath took one "against the head" as the rugby pundits would say, holding firm they were one goal up at the end of the first quarter.
Jo Harten was wearing black tape on the back of her leg, presumably her hamstring; it looked from the stands like a continuation of the lightning bolts on her uniform. She was striking well in the circle and young Alex Kirk was mature beyond her years - even after taking quite a fall half way through the 2nd quarter. Loughborough pulled their way back into the game pulling level at 17-17 and stayed with the Superleague's undefeated for two-thirds of the period. A little haste and a stray pass gave Bath back the advantage and they then used quick turnover and fast passing to strike viper-fast and move 5 in front. It's a tribute to the talents of the Lightning centre court that at half-time the gap was just three.
It was down to 2 goals at the end of the third quarter in what proved to be a sizzling match, you can watch for yourself on Sky Sports Xtra on Thursday. A misunderstanding over the start time (and a non-refundable non-changeable train ticket) meant I had to scoot back to London before the final whistle so I'll be watching the re-run with interest but my sources courtside reported that the second half was played in the same spirit as the first with very little to choose between the two teams. Sara Bayman was flying through the air intercepting key passages of play and in the end the match came down to a couple of missed opportunities and errors by Loughborough that were snapped up and punished by TeamBath.
It probably fair to say that TeamBath captain Pam Cookey was pleased; "We're in the final.. YIPPEE! I'm so proud of the whole 12 in the squad to have taken the lead and strengthen it in the last quarter." She could have been over in the ANZ but ensured her contract allowed her to stay with TeamBath until their trophy chase was over. You could tell she was up for the game in the warm-up when returning from a comfort break she flung open the doors to the Sports Hall and raced back into the team's ball drills. As she did she ploughed through the advertising hoardings, but they were no barrier to the England legend and I'm not even sure she noticed so focused was she on the ball; a team of men repaired the damage behind her.
TeamBath coach Jess Garland "It's a great moment, I'm pleased with the way we earned the win especially winning the 4th quarter after losing the 3rd by one goal. I thought Rachel Dunn was clinical and had a very good game. Defensively Eboni and Stacie's work rate was excellent and Sara Bayman did some excellent turnover especially at the beginning of game."
The "Invincibles" go forward then to the Grand Final at Coventry's Skydome Arena on the 4th April, while it's the repercharge for Loughborough Lightning. It's home advantage against defending champions Mavericks on Saturday 28th March 2009 for a place in the last two.
Starting Lineup
TeamBath
GS: Rachel Dunn
GA: Pamela Cookey (capt)
WA: Jo Binns
C: Serena Guthrie
WD: Sara Bayman
GD: Stacey Francis
GK: Eboni Beckford-Chambers
SHOOTING STATS
Rachel Dunn = 35/41 85%
Pamela Cookey = 27/33 82%
Loughborough Lightning
GS: Jo Harten
GA: Alex Kirk
WA: Natalie Hampshire
C: Jade Clarke (capt)
WD: Olivia Murphy
GD: Emma Bliss
GK: Hannah Reid
SHOOTING STATS
Jo Harten: = 42/46 91%
A Kirk: = 11/16 69%
L Stephenson: = 2/2 100%
B - 3 v 4 - Mavericks 59 Leeds Carnegie 46 - Saturday 21st March 2009
MAVERICKS V LEEDS CARNEGIE
Venue: Hertforsshire Sports Village
Date and Time: 1500, 21st March, 2009.
Umpires: Louise Travis and Jo Kelly, with 3rd official Debbie King
| Quarter | Score |
|---|---|
| 1 | 14-11 |
| 2 | 34-21 |
| 3 | 46-34 |
| 4 | 59-46 |
Report
Mavericks started this Co-operative Netball Superleague play-off with pep. From the first centre, theirs, start you got the feeling they wanted to get the win in the bag as soon as possible and for six and a half minutes Leeds Carnegie were left reeling. Louisa Brownfield plays a very ranging game when she's in the goal-shooter bib - she's not one of those looming types lurking hopeful of a pass under the post. This shooter goes out and gets the ball, it's like having to goal-attacks at times and perhaps explains how Mavericks pull off their slick 1-2-3 from the centre pass - it's text book when it works.Today it worked for two of the four quarters both in the first half. It took more than 8 and a half minutes for Leeds Carnegie to get in the game, they were trailing 10-3 when they stepped up the work-rate and started forcing errors from the home-side which helped make the deficit just 3 by the time the end of quarter whistle went.
Naida Hutchinson made her impact on the game in the second quarter a player who looks so solid under the posts that it's no surprise to see her unmoved as shooters looking for contact penalties bounce off her. Carnegie's outstanding Amanda Martin was not given the chance to play the game her way at the Sports Village, she made the most of the possession she had but it was slim pickings with Hutchinson hungry for the ball. In front of an enthusiastic if a little shy crowd Mavericks extended their advantage to 13 by half time.
There were two very different styles of play on the court today, Leeds favoured short fast passes that lacked the fluidity that helped Mavericks move down the court quicker but worked better in the early part of the sticky third quarter. We had long passages of passing, from one centre circle to the other, Mavericks must have thought there was cling-film on their hoop as Clarke and Brownfield lobbed their shots only to have the ball roll around the inside and outside of the ring without dropping. It became more physical with the umpires blowing up regularly and the game lost its way a little.
It didn't have the same momentum in the final quarter either, by then the specatators were expecting the champions to take the defence of their trophy into the semi-final. For the coaches and players is was a hard grind to the end but you can see for yourselves in the Sky Sports Tv coverage.
Mavericks coach Kendra Slawinski "Leeds gave us a good game we knew it would be a tough challenge they've been on the up and up and the hardest thing is that everyone expected us, because of our tradition our history to walk through it. But it was a tough game and I was pleased with how our athletes approached it."
Starting Lineups
Mavericks
GS: Louisa Brownfield
GA: Ella Clark
WA: Gemma Wiseman
C: Karen Atkinson (capt)
WD: Steph Bello
GD: Hazel Schofield
GK: Naida Hutchinson
SHOOTING STATS:
Louisa Brownfield 43/53 = 85%
Ella Clark 14/25 = 56%
Leeds Carnegie
GS : Joanne Walker
GA : Amanda Martin
WA: Danielle Bloomfield
C: Jennifer Fields
WD: Rebecca White
GD : Lisa Ferneyhough
GK: Jo Davis (capt)
Shooting Stats
Joanna Walker 19/28 = 68%
Amanda Martin 27/35 = 77%
Fixtures and Ticket Information
Play Off fixtures will be finalised upon completion of the final league matches over the weekend of March 14th-16th. The play off fixtures will be displayed above, please contact each home franchise for each match for ticket details.
All Images Courtesy ofChris Mangnall/SWPix.com
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