Fever raced out the blocks, leading by five goals at the end of the first quarter. From there however, a spirited Vixens team kept the reigning premiers within reaching distance.
In the end it was star Goal Shooter Jhaniele Fowler who sealed the game, scoring the winning goal in the dying seconds of the game.
Moments that mattered
The Fever shone from both ends of the court with the defensive team of Goal Keeper Courtney Bruce and Goal Defence Sunday Aryang regularly putting their bodies on the line to prevent the Vixens from leading at any point.
The duo combined for nine gains, including two intercepts for Bruce and five deflections for Aryang, proving crucial in the final quarter.
Quarter by Quarter
Q1: WCF 17 | VIX 12
Fever started the game on the right foot, forcing a turnover in very first play. From there, the Fever worked hard to bring the lead to five goals at the close of the first quarter. Fowler’s superb shooting was helped by clean feeding from Wing Attack Alice Teague-Neeld and Goal Attack Sasha Glasgow.
Q2: WCF 32 | VIX 28
The second quarter was a period of two halves with the Vixens pulling back the game to level before a Dan Ryan initiated time-out brought a well-timed break. When play resumed Fever enjoyed much of the play their way, highlighted by an effort by Goal Keeper Bruce to gain the ball while falling to the ground.
Q3: WCF 48 | VIX 46
The Fever lead was reduced to a solidarity goal thanks to a fired-up Vixens team but from there Fever fought back to bring the lead to six. Excellent feeding by Centre Verity Simmons and Teague-Neeld to Glasgow was on full display. Jenner was brought on for her first appearance in Fever colours, impressing at Goal Defence.
Q4: WCF 62 | VIX 61
Fever were pushed down to the wire as the Vixens brought the scores level with just over four minutes to go. Glasgow scored a clutch supershot with just 70 seconds left on the clock before Vixen’s Kiera Austin responded with her own. The game came down to the final second as Fowler capped off her flawless performance with her buzzer beating 55th goal.
| West Coast Fever |
17 |
32 |
48 |
62 |
| Melbourne Vixens |
12 |
26 |
44 |
61 |
Goals: Fowler 55 | Kumwenda 37
Super Shots: Glasgow 1 | Austin 3
Goal Assists: Teague-Neeld 20 | Watson 16
Feeds: Teague-Neeld 39 | Watson 34
Centre Pass Receives: Teague-Neeld 26 | Austin 18
Deflections: Aryang 6 | Moloney 3
Gains: Aryang, Bruce 4 | Lewis 2
Intercepts: Bruce 2 | Austin 1
Article By. Oliver Lane
