By Chloe Pilkington
A strong-suited Sunshine Coast Lightning have overrun GIANTS Netball and secured the 4-points in Round 1 with a 66-50 win at UniSC Arena.
With both teams coming off a disappointing 2022 season, the Lightning and the GIANTS were seeking redemption in Round 1.
But it was the Lightning that earned bragging rights for the first win of the season defeating GIANTS 66-50 in front of their home crowd.
A clear standout for the game was player-of-the-match Lightning defender Kadie-Ann Dehaney. Dehaney continued to grow in confidence throughout the game, finishing the match off with an impressive 10 deflections and 4 intercepts to her name.
With Karla Pretorius back in the Lightning squad after missing last season to have her first child, the new defensive duo of herself and Dehaney shined on court, stifling the GIANTS attack end throughout the full four quarters.
GIANTS' Matisse Letherbarrow stepped into the GS position with Jo Harten missing Round 1 due to injury, the first game the skipper has missed since joining the club in 2017.
Lightning finished in front by three at the end of the first quarter, as GIANTS C Jamie-Lee Price willed her team along with an incredible intercept going into quarter time.
Lightning put their foot down in the second quarter, with Dehaney’s incredible defensive work and Cara Koenen and Steph Wood’s shooter-to-shooter connection staying strong, taking the lead to 32-22 going into half time.
Lightning’s new coach Belinda Reynolds, former West Coast Fever Assistant Coach, used her tactical time outs to calm her squad as they continued to stun the GIANTS in the second half of the match.
The Lightning defensive end continued to cause havoc for the GIANTS attack line, with the score blowing out to 62-48 with a few minutes left of the game.
GIANTS shooters were forced to take crucial Super Shots during the final Power Five to bring the margin down, but the Lightning continued to dominate finishing the game 66-50 and ending on a total of 465.5 Nissan NetPoints.
The Lightning will make their short trip to Brisbane for the ‘Battle of the Bruce’ against the Queensland Firebirds next round while the GIANTS will fly over to Perth to face the reigning premiers, West Coast Fever.
