West Coast Fever held off a fast-finishing Adelaide Thunderbirds side on Saturday night to win 70-62 and start the 2021 Suncorp Super Netball Season with four consecutive victories.
After fighting back from an eight-point deficit to level the scores at half time and then build a seven-point lead in the third, Fever had to withstand a fight back from the Thunderbirds in the fourth quarter at Netball SA Stadium.
Three consecutive super-shots saw the home side halve a 10-point margin with less than two minutes remaining before Fever steadied and Jhaniele Fowler sealed the win with a super-shot of her own.
Coach Stacey Marinkovich said it was a hard-fought win over a determined opponent.
“Full credit to Adelaide, they were connecting very well and their defensive pressure was outstanding. I think we were a little bit flat-footed … there were things that we can definitely fix but we’ve got to get better at our starts,” she said.
“I think it shows the standard of the competition that anybody on any given day can produce some really good netball.
“We are sustaining it for three quarters but we’re not getting the starts, so we’ve got to look to get the four quarters.”
After starting the game with the same seven as last week, Marinkovich changed the line-up to commence the second quarter, moving Jess Anstiss to Centre, Verity Charles to Wing Attack and Stacey Francis-Bayman into Wing Defence, with Sunday Aryang in Goal Defence alongside Goal Keeper Courtney Bruce.
Sasha Glasgow continued her excellent contribution at the attacking end, scoring seven goals and two super-shots while also playing a pivotal role in feeding Fowler with 19 goal assists.
Jess Anstiss with 17 assists and Verity Charles with 14 assists, also played an important role through the midcourt, helping Fowler break 100 Nissan Net Points for the second week in a row with a total of 110 from 54 goals and five rebounds.
The pressure applied by the defensive unit was crucial in forcing turnovers and held balls in the fourth quarter, with Francis-Bayman putting her body on the line to deflect passes, Aryang recording three gains and two intercepts, and Bruce notching up nine gains and an intercept.
Fever return to Perth to host Giants in Indigenous Round at RAC Arena on Monday, May 31.
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