By Charlotte Knoke
The Sunshine Coast Lightning produced a clinical performance in the Battle of the Bruce, winning by 10 goals against the Queensland Firebirds (65-55).
With a dominating first half, the Lightning were able to hold on and seal the win, and claim the Queensland Cup in 2023.
The Lightning had a strong start. After going goal for goal for a while in the first quarter, a loose ball from the Firebirds was picked up by Steph Wood who capitalised.
Lightning GK Kadie-Ann Dehaney also made her presence known early with a tip and an intercept.
A few misses from Firebirds shooters Donnell Wallam and Mia Stower allowed Lightning defenders to gain some rebounds.
A seven goal lead to the Lightning caused Firebirds coach Bec Bulley to call a tactical time-out to try and slow the opposition’s momentum.
A deflection from Firebirds GK Remi Kamo was crucial for the Firebirds with Wallam capitalising, bringing the margin back to five.
After an uncharacteristic footwork call against Lara Dunkley, Gabi Simpson was able to get the ball back and after a bit of back and forth, it ended up back in Firebird’s hands.
During the Power Five, Wallam missed a Super Shot and Lightning made quick work to get the ball back down the court, with Koenen adding another score on the board.
The Lightning shooting combination of Steph Wood and Cara Koenen was looking natural and seamless, and both goalers ended the first quarter on 100% accuracy. At the end of the first quarter, the Lightning had a seven goal lead 21-14.
Ash Unie made her debut for the Queensland Firebirds during the second quarter in GD, with coach Bulley trying different defensive styles by having Bakewell-Doran moved back into GK.
The Lightning defence continued to disrupt the Firebirds shooters, with Karla Pretorius and Dehaney gaining tips and rebounds which the Lightning midcourt was able to get down the court quickly for Koenen to capitalise.
Great vision and connections from the Lightning midcourters, Laura Scherian and Annie Miller, further contributed to their scoreboard domination.
The Lightning seemed to capitalise on almost all gained ball, while alternatively the Queensland Firebirds were struggling to score on their turned over ball.
The Lightning were able to stretch their lead due to some mistakes from the Firebirds. Missed shots, fumbled balls and offensive contacts started to make a big difference for the Firebirds, with Lightning punishing them on the scoreboard.
A supershot from Donnell Wallam in the Power Five was crucial for the Firebirds, but the Lightning proved too strong and maintained their dominating lead.
Towards the end of the first half, the Lightning called timeout, with Wood coming off the court, Koenen moving to GA, and Charlie Bell making her debut for the Lightning in GS.
A missed supershot by Wallam on the buzzer meant the Lightning kept their 18 goal lead. It was a dominating first half by the Lightning, ending the second quarter 39-21.
The Queensland Firebirds made a few changes heading into the third quarter, with Macy Gardner coming on into C and Emily Moore coming on as GA.
They instantly won the ball back and scored which was crucial for the Firebirds. The pressure seemed to be mounting for the Lightning, as Koenen had her first miss of the game, but she got her own rebound and scored.
A key intercept from Bakewell-Doran was vital for the Firebirds, but they were unable to score off it, with Moore missing the shot and Pretorius grabbing the rebound.
The Firebirds lifted their intensity and opened the second half very strongly, as they slightly clawed back the margin, reducing it to 15.
Gardner was a true impact player for the Firebirds, picking up loose balls and lifting her side. The Firebirds defenders seemed to lift their work rate, starting to disrupt the Lightning shooters.
Despite the big lead, the Lightning seemed to be under pressure with the Firebirds forcing some uncharacteristic mistakes.
Two Super Shots from Emily Moore in the Power Five were crucial for the Firebirds, but Wood reciprocated with a Super Shot of her own at the other end.
Wallam slotted in a shot on the buzzer, and the Firebirds ended up winning the third quarter 18-15. Despite this, the Lightning still maintained a strong lead and headed into the final quarter 54-39.
Wood had her second miss of the game at the beginning of the final quarter, and this gave the Firebirds another opportunity to claw back the margin. Ruby Bakewell-Doran gained a few critical intercepts which the Firebirds were able to capitalise on, and bring the margin back to 10.
However, Wood and Koenen stayed calm and consistent for the Lightning, and kept the scoreboard ticking over under pressure.
Ash Unie gained an intercept which Wallam was able to score off, however after the next centre pass Wallam was called for an offensive contact.
The Firebirds ended up winning the final quarter 16-11, but unfortunately for them the dominating first-half from the Lightning was too much for them to claw back, with the Lightning finishing the match with a 10 goal win, 65-55.
