Vitality Roses Helen Housby (NSW Swifts) and Chelsea Pitman (Adelaide Thunderbirds) star in their Round 5 Super Netball games.
West Coast Fever 59-68 Melbourne Vixens
Vitality Roses involved: Stacey Francis (West Coast Fever)
The Melbourne Vixens opened Round 5 with a hard fought 9 point win over the West Coast Fever at Nissan Arena.
The Fever had their moments but as committed as they were, they never recovered from the dominant first quarter put together by the Vixens.
Vitality Roses goal defender Stacey Francis started the game for Fever and worked incredibly hard throughout the match up but couldn’t push her team to victory on this occasion.
Score breakdown
Q1: Fever 14-21 Vixens
Q2: Fever 14-13 Vixens
Q3: Fever 17-18 Vixens
Q4: Fever 14-16 Vixens
Queensland Firebirds 57-64 NSW Swifts
Vitality Roses involved: Helen Housby, Natalie Haythornthwaite (both NSW Swifts)
The NSW Swifts overcame a plucky Queensland Firebirds to secure win number four in a hotly contested Tuesday night match at Nissan Arena.
The Firebirds battled hard but had no answer to Vitality Roses’ goal attack Helen Housby, who ripped the game away from the hosts with 17 goals, including five from Suncorp Super Shot range.
The win further entrenched the Swifts in the top four, with Housby relieved they could rebound from last round’s loss to the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
“I was embarrassed by that performance against the Lightning,” Housby said.
“It’s not the way I want to play and it’s not what I’m capable of. I want to be a leader out there on court and I want to be the one taking the (pressure) shot.”
Housby started the game with wing attack Natalie Haythornthwaite coming off the bench, her introduction put Swifts in the driving seat with her crafty movement and vision making life easier for the Swifts’ shooters.
Score breakdown
Q1: Firebirds 16-16 Swifts
Q2: Firebirds 10-18 Swifts
Q3: Firebirds 17-15 Swifts
Q4: Firebirds 14-15 Swifts
Vitality Roses shooting stats
Helen Housby – G1 – 12/16 (75%); G2 – 5/7 (71%)
G1 = shots during normal play | G2 = Super Shots taken
Collingwood Magpies 52-60 Adelaide Thunderbirds
Vitality Roses involved: Geva Mentor (Collingwood Magpies) and Chelsea Pitman, Kate Shimmin and Layla Guscoth (all three Adelaide Thunderbirds)
The Thunderbirds opened with the first eight goals of the match enjoying a 17-11 edge after the opening quarter.
The Magpies’ attacking woes were further exposed in the second quarter as the Thunderbirds piled on nine of the first 11 goals, setting up a 32-22 halftime lead..
The Magpies rallied in the third quarter with Geva Mentor making an impact at the defensive end, helping reduce the Thunderbirds’ lead to four goals.
But two late Potgieter goals helped steady the Thunderbirds as they took a 44-38 advantage into the fourth quarter then answered every challenge to win the game.
Vitality Rose Chelsea Pitman was the star performer notching an incredible 52 feeds and 26 goal assists for the Thunderbirds. She unsurprisingly won player of the match.
“It feels good to win and I think the beauty of it is no-one really still expects us to,” co-captain Pitman said after the Thunderbirds won consecutive games for the first time in the Super Netball era.
“We know we can do it and we have belief in there and we’re getting more confident every single time we go out there.”
Score breakdown
Q1: Magpies 11-17 Thunderbirds
Q2: Magpies 11-15 Thunderbirds
Q3: Magpies 16-12 Thunderbirds
Q4: Magpies 14-16 Thunderbirds
Nissan Player of The Match: Chelsea Pitman (Adelaide Thunderbirds)
Sunshine Coast Lightning 58-57 GIANTS
Vitality Roses involved: Jo Harten (GIANTS Netball)
GIANTS Netball defender Kristiana Manu’a was sent off the court for rough play as the Sunshine Coast Lightning stormed home to claim a 58-57 Super Netball victory.
The GIANTS held a 52-45 lead five minutes into the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s clash at USC Stadium when Manu’a was given her marching orders after being called for a second act of rough play.
With the GIANTS forced to complete the match with six players, the Lightning outscored them 13-5, surviving two unsuccessful super shot attempts by Jo Harten in the dying seconds.
“That was quite a tricky game to play in, I don’t think I’ve been in anything quite like it,” Harten said after contesting the final 12 minutes with only six players.
Score breakdown
Q1: Lightning 16-15 GIANTS
Q2: Lightning 14-16 GIANTS
Q3: Lightning 11-18 GIANTS
Q4: Lightning 17-8 GIANTS
Vitality Roses shooting stats
Jo Harten – G1 – 22/26 (84%); G2 – 3/7 (43%)
G1 = shots during normal play | G2 = Super Shots taken
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