Sunshine Coast Lightning will travel to Perth this weekend to take on the West Coast Fever in the second match of First Nations Round 2023.
Currently sitting third on the ladder, the West Coast side will be wanting a win this week at home after losing by just one point to the current ladder-leaders, the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
This will be Head Coach Belinda Reynolds’ first game back at RAC Arena as the Lightning coach, after previously working as Fever’s Assistant Coach.
“Fever is a very tough opposition. I know it’s their association champs this weekend so the fans will pack out RAC Arena, so I’m calling all my Sunny Coast fans over in the West to come out to the game. Obviously I’ve got lots of friends and family there so I think we’ll have a little bit of support in the stands this weekend,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said she’s been happy with how the team has played recently in an incredibly tough competition.
“I’m still searching for that full four-quarter performance, but have been really impressed with our intent the last couple of games, so I think all the girls have taken responsibility for what that looks like,” she said.
“It hasn’t been easy for any team in the competition and we go into every game thinking every team is beatable. If you look at the top teams like Fever, the Swifts and the Vixens they’ve all had really close games. So I don’t think anyone is dominating the competition.”
“We’ve made it clear that we want to finish the season well, and we know that to finish at the top of the bottom we need to win the next couple of games. So yes the absolute target is to beat Fever this weekend.”
Lightning defender Ash Ervin said her team was looking forward to matching up with Fever this weekend.
“We all know it’s going to be a hard one because Fever is a really strong team, but we have the skill to take them on,” she said.
“Jhaniele Fowler is an important target for them, but they have a really strong team overall. Courtney Bruce at the back with Sunday Aryang provides amazing defence, and they have a really strong attacking line. Sasha Glasglow is amazing for them in the super shot period, so we’ve got to be really careful of what she can bring.
“You can’t underestimate any player there, we’ve just got to be really strong as individuals in this game. So it’s going to be a really big team effort to beat them.”
Sunshine Coast Lightning will take on the West Coast Fever this Saturday at 7pm AEST at RAC Arena. Watch live via Foxtel or Kayo Freebies.
