Mavericks cruise to stylish victory over Lightning
Round 5 of The FIAT Netball Superleague saw Hertfordshire Mavericks embark up north to the East Midlands for their Saturday night clash against Loughborough Lightning. With Lightning’s current position at the bottom of the FNSL table, having won just one of their last four encounters, mid-table Mavericks were arguably the favorites going into the game. Mavericks' Coach Karen Atkinson was pleased at her team’s performance, particularly in securing their most impressive winning margin of the season so far.
An early Lightning turnover saw the home team score the first goal, Lightning displayed fast and exhilarating court play, suggesting an epic dual was on the cards. Mavericks retaliated and turnedover the Loughborough centre and scored as a result. From the outset, the hosts looked like a real threat, defensive pressure saw several balls forced back to the Mavericks defensive players as great difficulty was encountered getting the ball into the circle.
Court play from Lightning was controlled as they opted for a possession game, but the defensive partnership of Lindsay Keable and Josie Huckle was tight and allowed little movement for the Lightning attack, as well as forcing copious errors and missed shots. The visitors continued to dominate at the other end of the court as Sasha Corbin’s feeds into Vicklyn Joseph were flawless. Alice Ewer was also finding her eye early on with exceptional long range shooting. The game looked to be going in favour of Mavericks as they took a substantial lead 8-2 with just six minutes gone on the clock.
An injury time-out called by Sophia Candappa was worrying for the home crowd considering her impressive performances so far this season. But as play continued, spurts of life were visible from Lightning, and in the closing minutes of the first quarter, they appeared as though they could be a real threat as the quarter closed 16-8 to Mavericks. There were no changes from either side going into the second quarter. A perfectly read interception from Josie Huckle was promising for Mavericks as they began strong, and took the turnover to goal. Loughborough continued to waste their opportunities as Olivia Mason struggled to find the back of the net, despite some impressive court movement. Eight minutes into the second quarter, the score read 23-11. It was undeniable that Lightning displayed sporadic moments of excellent netball, but Mavericks were far superior in their speed, taking less than half the time of their counterparts to get the ball into the shooting circle and secure a goal.
The defensive partnership of Huckle and Keable were tremendous as they continued to exert large amounts of pressure on the Lighting attack. Mavericks continued to pile on the pressure throughout the whole court, often causing the Lightning attack to play back to their defensive players. Despite the impressive lead from the away side, the teamwork of Candappa and Becky James was encouraging for the trailing side, with James producing some incredible circle edge finishes, receiving huge applause from the home crowd. The scoreline at half time was 31-16 to Mavericks as they really began to close in on the win.
Changes for Mavericks at half time saw Mikaela Austin move to C, Naida Hutchinson to GD, Keable moved to GK and Huckle moved to the bench. Just the one change at half time for Lightning with Afrika Morris brought to GK replacing Jade Forbes-Wattley, who should be commended for her impressive endeavour in defence. What appeared an erratic start to the third quarter then saw Mavericks settle as they secured an early surge of goals. The attacking play from Mavericks was executed with precision, and despite extra pressure placed on Joseph, as the Lightning GD Nicola Caunt dropped back to double mark her, the Mavericks' height advantage was too much and the overhead ball continued to find Joseph perfectly under the post.
A time out saw Lightning bring Lianne Badmin on at GS and Becky James move out to GA, and Olivia Mason on to the bench. Despite Badmin’s height advantage, the defensive pressure from Hutchinson and Keable created static play in the Lightning circle as they continued to restrict the movement of the attacking partnership. The fourth quarter heard the most noise of the whole match. The addition of young Steffi Burt for Vicklyn Joseph saw the continued triumph of the overhead pass into the circle. Mavericks centre court defence was impressive with Corbin and WD Camilla Buchanan making remarkable centre court interceptions.
In the midst of a walkover from Mavericks, Lightning came alive towards the end of the fourth quarter, as they found the long ball into Badmin and executed some fantastic last minute netball, giving the home crowd something positive to go home with. Lightning coach Olivia Murphy was pleased with her side’s performance considering such a large goal difference that arguably didn’t reflect the hard fight Lightning put up throughout the game. It is undeniable that Saturday evening saw a stunning performance from the away side in a game that was arguably won through speed and defensive pressure. Mavericks coach Karen Atkinson hopes her team can channel this performance for their crucial mid-table clash against Team Bath on Thursday evening.
Hertfordshire Mavericks
GS - Vicklyn Joseph, GA - Alice Ewer, WA - Sasha Corbin, C - Rose Morgan-Smith, WD - Camilla Buchanan (Capt), GD - Lindsay Keable, GK - Josie Huckle. Bench: Naida Hutchinson, Mikaela Austin, Tallisa Haynes, Steffi Burt, Shaunagh Craig
Loughborough Lightning
GS - Becky James (Capt), GA - Olivia Mason, WA - Jordan Moxley, C - Sophia Candappa, WD - Jodie Gibson, GD - Nicola Caunt, GK - Jade Forbes-Wattley. Bench: Lianne Badmin, Michaella McFarlane, Jenny Montgomery, Alex Sinclair, Afrika Morris.
Shooting Statistics:
Lightning: Becky James 21/31 68%, Olivia Mason 4/12 33%,, Lianne Badmin 9/12 75%
Total: 34/55 62%
Mavericks: Vicklyn Joseph 37/47 79%, Steffi Burt 12/14 86%, Alice Ewer 16/23 69%
Total 65/84 77%