Australia

Swifts beat Vixens to stay top of Super Netball ladder, Lightning defeat Fever



The NSW Swifts have maintained their position on top of the Super Netball ladder with a comfortable 62-48 victory over the struggling Melbourne Vixens at John Cain Arena.

In Saturday’s second game, the Sunshine Coast Lightning posted their seventh win of the season with a 65-61 result in their encounter with the West Coast Fever in Perth.

The Swifts lead the standings ahead of the Lightning because of a superior percentage. The two sides will play each other next Sunday in round 11.

Buoyed by last week’s nail-biting victory over the previously unbeaten Fever, the Swifts eased past the Vixens on Saturday to reclaim the Sargeant-McKinnis Cup and secure their fifth win from their last six contests.

Any hopes of the Vixens building upon last week’s upset triumph over Lightning were quickly erased once the Swifts exploded out of the blocks with nine of the first 10 goals to set up an 18-6 lead after one quarter.

The visitors surged ahead by 20 in the second term before a late Vixens rally reduced the Swifts’ half-time advantage to 31-15.

The Swifts then absorbed a strong challenge from the home side in the third quarter to build a 47-25 lead.

A late flurry of super shots from Vixens star Mwai Kumwenda gave the home fans something to cheer about, with the Malawi international helping her side outscore the Swifts 23-15 in the final term.

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The Swifts have risen to the challenge in recent weeks despite the ongoing uncertainty over their upcoming fixtures due to the COVID-19 situation in the Greater Sydney region.

After stunning the Vixens back in round three by sinking 48 shots without a miss in a 12-goal win, the Swifts’ Sam Wallace repeated the dose with a 33/33 (32 goals, one super shot) shooting effort before being replaced in the fourth quarter.

Sophie Garbin impressed with 18 goals from 20 attempts.

But it was the work at the defensive end that paved the way for the Swifts with Australian Diamonds duo Klau and Maddy Turner thwarting numerous Vixens attacking moves.

The pair combined for 13 deflections, leading to five gains, in the first half alone.

Kumwenda led the scoring for the Vixens with 23 goals and eight super shots.

Lightning too good for Fever

The Lightning set up their top-of-the-table clash with the Swifts with an impressive performance against the Fever.

It was just the Fever’s third home game for the season and first since beating the Giants by a goal on May 31.

They have now lost two straight to the top-two teams.

Conversely, the Lightning have put themselves in prime position for a top-two finish.

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It was all on the back of three two-point super shots in a matter of minutes that broke the game open in the third quarter, including two from Stephanie Wood.

Wood finished with 16 goals and two super shots, while Cara Koenen celebrated her 50th game with 43 goals and one super shot.

Jhaniele Fowler hit all 43 of her shots (42 goals and one super shot) for the Fever but she had a fascinating battle with Phumza Maweni who did not give her anything easy.

The result closes up the top of the Super Netball table with a month of fixtures remaining.

The win is the Lightning’s seventh out of 10 games this season as they bounced back from last week’s home loss to the Melbourne Vixens.

The Fever remain a game clear in fourth place with their seven wins from nine games, but given three of those victories did not count on the ladder, the loss could ultimately cost them a top-two finish.

AAP



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