It was a packed crowd (2,429) at UniSC Arena for Round 5 of Suncorp Super Netball. The whole match was close, with the lead only creeping out to a maximum of five points at a time.
Lighting played a high quality match, but weren’t able to fend off the in-form Swifts.
Q1: LIG 16-15 SWI
Steph sinks the first goal for Lightning with Swifts Goal Shooter Romelda Aiken-George responding immediately down the other end. It was clear early on that Jamaican teammates Aiken-George and Dehaney were preparing for a strong battle. Lightning moved the ball around in attack at a fast pace, with Steph firing multiple balls into Cara over Sarah Klau’s long reach. Dehaney was able to disrupt the Swifts attack, resulting in a miss-feed to Aiken-George. While the scores were neck-and-neck for most of the quarter, KD comes out with a flying intercept and nudges Lightning in front by one goal to finish the first.
Q2: LIG 34-31 SWI
KD gets her first block of the game upsetting Helen Housby’s shot which is picked up by Karla Pretorius. Lightning continues their impressive attacking game — the ball speed too hard for the Swifts defence to interrupt. Shez and Annie deliver some impressive, confident balls into Cara over Klau. Both teams are playing clean and quality netball, but Lightning are able to turn it slightly in their favour with another tip from KD. Swifts call a time out after momentum swings and Lightning taking a four-goal lead. Cara ignites the crowd with a classic, falling-out-of-court lay-up shot.
Q3: LIG 48-47 SWI
A misfeed early in the third quarter sees Swifts capitalise and bring the score back to even within minutes. Shez has to come off the court after a scratch to the cheek which sees Shannon Eagland come on into centre. This change up disrupts Lightning’s attack periodically but they’re able to settle into the line-up. Steph gets her defensive stats up with a deflection that causes Swifts to replay the ball. Karla Pretorius works overtime on Helen Housby to keep her quiet in the Power Five.
Q4: LIG 63-64 SWI
Steph changes into GS to start the final quarter which moves Cara into GA. Shannon Eagland comes back onto court into WD. Steph and Cara make the most of the switch-up, exposing the one-on-one created with Maddy Turner on Koenen. Physicality picks up at both ends, with defenders from both teams trying desperately to get the ball from the other. It’s impossible to separate the two teams, going goal-for-goal for most of the quarter. Swifts call a time out and Coach B switches Cara and Steph back into their usual positions. KD picks up another intercept off Aiken-George, with Cara to convert, pushing the Lightning in front by one goal. Swifts manage to hold on to a one-goal lead after a dropped ball from Lightning.
Stats wrap
Steph and Cara had impressive shooting stats, with Cara finishing on 95% and Steph 92%. Annie Miller had a dominant game, finishing on 21 Goal Assists and 27 Centre Pass Receives. Kadie-Ann Dehaney continued her strong form, finishing on three intercepts and four deflections.
