The Fever were stunned on their home court by the Firebirds last week but were relentless this time around, winning the battle on all fronts to secure their place in the postseason.
Conversely, the loss means the Vixens may now face a do-or-die showdown with the Sunshine Coast Lightning in the final round of the season.
The night began on a positive note for the Vixens, with star defender Emily Mannix returning from finger surgery.
That was about as rosy as it got, though, with the goalkeeper only playing the third quarter, while the Vixens also lost goal shooter Mwai Kumwenda to a knee injury in the same term.
Initially, the Malawian international landed awkwardly and crashed to the floor in pain, but was able to press on. But the shooter hit the floor again shortly after, this time in severe pain, and her night was over.
Veteran Nat Medhurst reminded Samsung Diamonds selectors of her value, claiming Nissan MVP honours with 39 assists to feed Jamaican star Jhaniele Fowler (62 goals at 94%) while the Fever were all but impenetrable in defence for much of the contest, consistently shutting Melbourne down.
The Vixens’ defence was up to the task in the early exchanges but the Fever had the better of them to dash out to a 4-1 advantage.
But Medhurst and Verity Charles were able to find their superstar shooter Fowler too frequently and with five minutes left in the first quarter the Fever’s lead was out to five goals, prompting a Vixens timeout.
Melbourne fought back, but the Fever unleashed a long-range pass to Fowler in the final seconds to secure the bonus point and a 19-14 quarter-time lead.
The second quarter was a genuine tug-of-war with nothing splitting the two sides until the midway point, when a turnover from Medhurst allowed the Vixens the possession to peg back two of the goals they were in arrears.
But Courtney Bruce was frustrating the Vixens in defence and any error was punished severely, with the Fever marching back out to an eight-goal advantage. That quickly ballooned out to 11 goals by the half-time siren and the Fever had the match in their control.
Mannix was injected into the action in the third quarter but the signs looked ominous. The Fever pushed their lead out to 14 before the Vixens fought back, taking advantage of a dip in energy from the home side to cut the margin back to 42-33.
The injury to Kumwenda initially didn’t stall the brave Vixens, who took the bonus point for the quarter and went into the final term trailing 51-44.
But with their first choice goalkeeper and shooter off the court, the Vixens couldn’t stop the Fever from claiming the final bonus point and the result.
Q1: Fever 19 v Vixens 14
Q2: Fever 16 v Vixens 10
Q3: Fever 16 v Vixens 20
Q4: Fever 17 v Vixens 11
Suncorp Super Netball premiership points
Fever 7
Vixens 1
Fever shooting statistics
Jhaniele Fowler 62/66
Nat Medhurst 6/7
Vixens shooting statistics
Mwai Kumwenda 32/36
Tegan Philip 20/25
Samantha Gooden 3/6
Fever starting seven
GS: Jhaniele Fowler, GA: Nat Medhurst, WA: Ingrid Colyer, C: Verity Charles, WD: Jess Anstiss, GD: Stacey Francis, GK: Courtney Bruce
Vixens starting seven
GS: Mwai Kumwenda, GA: Tegan Philip, WA: Liz Watson, C: Kate Moloney, WD: Renae Ingles, GD: Jo Weston, GK: Kadie-Ann Dehaney
Nissan MVP: Mat Medhurst
