By Rosie Gale
The Collingwood Magpies have come away from the first game of the season with an impressive 71-63 win over the NSW Swifts at John Cain Arena.
Collingwood’s Jodi-Ann Ward stole the show in a season-opener.
Ward set John Cain Arena alight in the first half with her exciting playmaking in defence, racking up 3 rebounds, 3 intercepts and 4 deflections, setting up the Magpies to a comfortable lead in the first charge.
It was the second half where the player of the match really shined, earning herself a whopping 125.5 Nissan Net Points.
Kelsey Browne in action for the Collingwood Magpies.
But it was the smothering pressure from the entire team which set the key defender up for success and stifled the Swifts.
Molly Jovic and Ash Brazil were brilliant in defence while Sophie Garbin and Jamacian superstar goaler Shimona Nelson dominated in attack.
Nelson finished with a perfect record, shooting 53/53 and making it a tough afternoon for Swifts goal keeper Sarah Klau.
Garbin proved she has what it takes to play out an entire match in goal attack, and even finished with a handful of Super Shots to her name. She also finished with 21 feeds.
For the Swifts Romelda Aiken-George stood tall under the post, marking her first outing in the red dress.
But the travelling team looked out of sorts from the get go and were forced to make a number of changes, none of which could quite quell the Pies' grasp on the game.
A final quarter surge, led by England Rose Helen Housby edged the Swifts close enough to make the home side uncomfortable.
Maddy Proud was one of the best for the NSW Swifts.They got within five in the last before the Pies regained control to close out the match.
Standouts on the stats sheet included Ward, and Geva Mentor who finished with seven gains - three of those were intercepts.
Maddy Proud finished with the most Nissan Net Points (65) for the Swifts with 31 feeds.
The Pies will now turn their attention to a Melbourne showdown with the Vixens next Sunday while the Swifts will be on the again, this time heading to Adelaide to face the Thunderbirds.
