The visiting Lightning were pummelled 19-9 in the first quarter by a willing Swifts outfit, but any thought of the defending champions raising the white flag was quickly erased.
Geva Mentor was enormous in defence with two rebounds and three intercepts, Steph Wood was creative and the midcourt made it a huge battle as the Lightning came roaring back into the contest – even leading at one stage in the third quarter.
But the cool hand of Swifts shooter and Nissan MVP Sam Wallace (43/45) guided the Swifts home.
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Swifts
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MATCH-UP
The Numbers
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Lightning
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31
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Mins. in Possession
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28
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9
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Gain
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12
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5
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Intercepts
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3
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12
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Deflections
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16
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92
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Goal Shooting %
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91
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It was a crucial clash for both sides, who came into this match occupying third and fourth places on the Rebel Sport ladder and looking to consolidate their place in the top four.
Maddy Proud opened up the game early for the Swifts, chiming in with four assists as the home side skipped out to an 8-2 lead, before the Lightning promptly called a timeout. But New South Wales again knocked the Lightning off their rhythm and continued to press their advantage, forcing turnovers, dominating possession and taking their lead to 10 goals.
The Sunshine Coast remained flat for the entire term and were staring down the barrel early, with the Swifts leading 19-9 at the first break.
Proud and Paige Hadley had all the answers for the Swifts, guiding the ball into their goalers’ hands with ease while the defensive end was breaking down the Lightning offence at will and took advantage of some uncharacteristic Wood errors and missed shots.
The Sunshine Coast needed answers and it came through the hands of captain Geva Mentor, who engineered crucial possession for the Lightning in the second quarter. They cut the margin back to seven as the visitors fought to graft their way back into the match, and by half-time they trailed by just four goals – 27-31 – and had a bonus point in their keeping.
Suddenly it was the Swifts under pressure and there was some obvious frustration on court as the game became more physical. NSW was able to steady the ship in the middle of the third quarter with a run that pushed their lead back out to six.
Whatever mental lapse the Lightning players experienced in the first quarter would not be repeated, however, and the visitors came storming back again and stole the lead at 41-40 with just under three minutes remaining in the penultimate quarter.
NSW had their noses back in front at 45-43 coming into the final term, but all the momentum was with the Lightning, who were looking to complete an amazing comeback.
It was a seesawing battle and although the Swifts were able to edge out to four-goal advantages twice, the Lightning kept coming and closed to within one in the final minutes.
But when the Swifts continued to score off their own centre passes and extracted one final turnover from the Lightning, they were able to play for possession in the closing moments and hold the visiting side at bay.
Q1: Swifts 19 v Lightning 9
Q2: Swifts 12 v Lightning 18
Q3: Swifts 14 v Lightning 16
Q4: Swifts 14 v Lightning 13
Suncorp Super Netball Premiership points
Swifts 6
Lightning 2
Swifts shooting statistics
Sam Wallace 43/45
Helen Housby 16/19
Lightning shooting statistics
Caitlin Bassett 34/36
Steph Wood 22/25
Swifts starting seven
GS: Sam Wallace, GA: Helen Housby, WA: Paige Hadley, C: Maddy Proud, WD: Abbey McCulloch, GD: Maddy Turner, GK: Sarah Klau
Lightning starting seven
GS: Caitlin Bassett, GA: Steph Wood, WA: Kelsey Browne, C: Laura Scherian, WD: Madeline McAuliffe, GD: Karla Pretorius, GK: Geva Mentor
Nissan MVP: Sam Wallace
