Last Week
Fever fell 54-53 to the table topping Thunderbirds in Adelaide in a fourth one-goal loss of the season.
The visitors got off to a good start taking the first quarter by eight as Fowler scored an impressive 19 Goals before quarter time.
Thunderbirds slowly but surely got themselves back in the game, eventually drawing scores level late in the third quarter.
Two late Super Shots from Eleanor Cardwell put her team ahead with two minutes left to play as the Thunderbirds controlled the pace of the game and wound down the clock to ensure the win.
On the Sunshine Coast the Lightning were able to snap a four-game losing streak, beating bottom of the table Collingwood Magpies 66-62.
The match got off to a rocky start with the Queensland team down by nine goals in the second quarter. Goal Attack Steph Wood put through two Super Shots in the Power 5 to wrestle momentum away from the Magpies before half time.
From there, Lighting enjoyed much of the run of play and went from nine goals down to six goals ahead in 15 minutes. While Magpies managed to bring scores back level with two minutes to play, Wood was able to put through another Super Shot and deny Collingwood the win.
Match Ups
Fever will have to contend with an in-form Steph Wood in Goal Attack who is coming off the back of a productive game against the Magpies. It will be up to the defensive team of Courtney Bruce, Sunday Aryang and Kim Jenner to try to quell Wood’s impact.
Last time the sides met, Fowler had her most fruitful game of the year under the post scoring 65 Goals without a miss to rack up 149.5 Nissan Net Points. In that game, Lightning’s defensive team of Karla Pretorius and Kadie-Ann Dehaney were kept quite so are sure to be looking to make their impact felt this week.
Last Time they Met
Round 7, 2023 – Fever 74 defeated Lightning 64
Fever were in a dominant position for much of the matchup at the UniSC Arena thanks to a productive first quarter.
After a cagey first seven minutes, Fever broke the deadlock and pushed to an eight-goal lead at quarter time. From there Fever managed to keep the Lightning at an arm’s length until a push in the third quarter Power 5 gave the host’s a glimmer of hope.
Despite a turnover the way of Lightning early in the final quarter Fever held firm and ensured a smooth ride to a 10-goal lead.
Stats and Facts
Alice Teague-Neeld will reach 100 National League games when she steps onto the court this Saturday. The midcourter began her career with the Melbourne Vixens in 2015 before moving to the Collingwood Magpies.
Teague-Neeld has been a crucial member of Fever since 2019 and has thoroughly shown her worth this season, leading the competition in Goal Assists and Centre Pass Receives.
Jhaniele Fowler is just 36 away from 5,000 SSN goals. This year, Fowler has not scored fewer than 42 Goals in a match at an average of 54 per game.
The Jamaican Shooter has been the SSN Player of the Year five times and has regularly led the goal scoring tally, setting the all-time goals in a season record of 979 goals in 2020.
Match Preview By Oliver Lane
