While the Fever has been ultra impressive this season, beating the Firebirds is the one mountain they had not been able to climb heading into this game. The Firebirds defeated the Fever in all of their 2017 encounters and again earlier this season when the two sides met in Brisbane.
The win – which was the first any side has had against the Fever in Perth this season – was built on the defence of veteran Laura Geitz and the skill and guile of Nissan MVP Gretel Tippett who finished with 19 goals, 21 assists, four rebounds and an intercept. But the Firebirds have also unlocked a potential star of the future in Townsville product Kim Jenner who had a blinder in defence.
The Firebirds employed their brand of lockdown defence in their win over Giants last week and did it again at Perth Arena, restricting the Fever to just 10 points in the third quarter and 13 points in the final quarter to stun the huge and vocal home crowd.
Jamaica and Fever star Jhaniele Fowler celebrated her 29th birthday today and immediately made her presence felt with her family in the stands of Perth Arena to cheer her own. The Fever leapt out to a 4-1 lead as the massive crowd roared their approval.
The Firebirds came back furiously, though, forcing turnovers in the midcourt and levelling the scores soon afterwards. Jenner was giving the Fever plenty of headaches with her intensity, but her opposite Nat Medhurst was able to answer back with four goals and three assists to keep the Fever in the lead.
Centre Verity Charles sent a scare through the West Coast camp after rolling her ankle, but she was able to walk off the pain and continue on with the game.
A clutch Courtney Bruce intercept helped the Fever break the game open again and it was the home side who claimed the first bonus point and a 16-13 quarter time lead.
Fowler showed off her flaw in the second quarter, receiving the ball millimetres from the baseline before leaping high and draining the goal from behind before her feet landed out of bounds. It was efforts like that the Firebirds couldn’t find answers for, as the Fever romped to a 20-15 lead.
Geitz found an extra effort as well, leaping high to intercept a pass intended for Fowler as the Firebirds fought back and cut the margin back to two. Tippett was playing a starring role for Queensland as well, with seven goals, seven assists, two rebounds and an intercept by the halfway mark of the second quarter.
It was an enormous battle between the two sides and there was no bonus point for the second term as nothing could split them, although the Fever took a 31-28 match advantage into halftime.
The Firebirds ramped up the defensive intensity in the third quarter, with extra pressure put on Fowler, grinding their way back to within one goal in a low-scoring term. Then a one-on-one challenge from Geitz on Fowler saw the veteran defender reel in a crucial ball, which led to the levelling goal and a West Coast time out.
The Fever re-shuffled their defensive structures with Shannon Eagland given a chance at wing defence but it couldn’t halt the Firebirds charge, the visitors pushing their lead out to three goals.
It was a huge quarter from the Firebirds, restricting the Fever to just 10 goals, earning a bonus point and taking a 43-41 lead into the final 15 minutes.
Medhurst had a huge game and stood up in the final quarter with clutch goals to lock the scores up once again. Geitz made it a battle of the veterans with more critical touches to shift the momentum back in the Firebirds’ favour, the visitors moving out to a four-goal lead – their biggest of the match. That laid the platform for the Firebirds to streak away and record a critical victory.
Q1: Fever 16 v Firebirds 13
Q2: Fever 15 v Firebirds 15
Q3: Fever 10 v Firebirds 15
Q4: Fever 13 v Firebirds 17
Suncorp Super Netball premiership points
Queensland Firebirds 6
West Coast Fever 1
*No bonus point awarded for drawn second quarter
Fever shooting statistics
Jhaniele Fowler 42/45
Nat Medhurst 12/16
Firebirds shooting statistics
Romelda Aiken 41/50
Gretel Tippett 19/24
Fever starting seven
GS: Jhaniele Fowler, GA: Nat Medhurst, WA: Ingrid Colyer, C: Verity Charles, WD: Jess Anstiss, GD: Stacey Francis, GK: Courtney Bruce
Firebirds starting seven
GS: Romelda Aiken, GA: Gretel Tippett, WA: Caitlyn Nevins, C: Mahalia Cassidy, WD: Gabi Simpson, GD: Kim Jenner, GK: Laura Geitz
Nissan MVP: Gretel Tippett
