Credit: @touchlinepics
The Vitality Roses, Roses Futures and Roses Academy athletes played a crucial role during the sixth round of the Vitality Netball Superleague, here’s how they got on…
Team Bath Netball 53-57 Manchester Thunder
Manchester Thunder continued their unbeaten run on Friday night after a narrow victory against Team Bath Netball.
Thunder started the match fielding three Vitality Roses: Eleanor Cardwell, Natalie Metcalf and Laura Malcolm.
Team Bath also began with three Roses taking to the court: Sophie Drakeford-Lewis, Imogen Allison and Layla Guscoth.
The match started with each team trading goals in a fast-paced opening quarter which saw both sides looking to break away; at the end of the first quarter Team Bath led by one.
Allison’s team kept Thunder at bay and were the higher scoring side in the first three quarters thanks to some excellent playmaking and finishing by Drakeford-Lewis, who totalled 20 goals and nine feeds.
The final quarter saw Thunder dig deep to retain their unbeaten streak as they totalled 18 goals to Team Baths 11 which saw them steal the victory.
London Pulse 64-35 Severn Stars
London Pulse maintained their undefeated home record this weekend in their convincing victory over Severn Stars.
Pulse began the match with six out of seven of their starting lineup being Roses athletes: Assaindey Olivia Tchine, Kira Rothwell, Ashleigh Dekker, Ellie Rattu, Zara Everitt and Funmi Fadoju.
Severn Stars started with Vitality Roses technical coach Liana Leota playing as Wing Attack.
The match began with quick, clinical play from Pulse who were able to push to a seven point lead which Stars managed to claw back to 12-8 at the end of the first quarter.
Pulse continued their display with Tchine noting 35 goals in the fixture, captain Everitt was forced off the court due to injury and was replaced with Ellie Rattu.
Stars struggled to assert themselves in the fixture and were unable to close the goal deficit due to some strong defensive displays by Fadoju who amassed nine turnovers for her side; at the end of the match she was named player of the match.
Strathclyde Sirens 59-57 Surrey Storm
A closely contested match-up between Strathclyde Sirens and Surrey Storm saw Sirens snatch the victory.
The match started closely with both teams moving the ball around efficiently but for each sides attack, their opponents responded equally well. At the end of the first quarter the score was 18-15 in favour of Sirens.
The second quarter of play saw more of the same end-to-end action from both sides, each team aimed to run away with the scoreline but neither could effectively disrupt their opponent’s rhythm; both sides scored 15 in the second quarter and finished the half 33-30 to Sirens.
After the halftime break both teams were straight back to action; trading goal for goal, Sirens were able to maintain the pressure and retain their early narrow lead to see out the remaining minutes of the match and secure the win.
Loughborough Lightning 71-47 Saracens Mavericks
Loughborough Lightning sealed another win at the weekend in their home fixture against Saracens Mavericks.
Lightning began their match with the same starting seven from the previous week, beginning with five Roses: Ella Clark, Hannah Joseph, Natalie Panagarry, Beth Cobden and Francesca Williams
Mavericks also sported two Roses in their starting lineup with Gabriella Marshall and Razia Quashie.
From the start of the first quarter, the intensity of the match was high, Lightning were quick to assert their dominance early in the match and ended the first quarter 19-7.
Joseph had a stand-out performance for her side and totalled 23 feeds to aid in her team’s victory.
Leeds Rhinos 44-43 Wasps
Leeds Rhinos snatched the victory in the final seconds of the match to secure the win over Wasps.
Rhinos began their match with four Roses aiming to make an impact: Sienna Rushton, Brie Grierson, Jade Clarke and Vicki Oyesola.
Clarke quickly opened the scoring, putting away her shot cleanly after a fast break from Rhinos.
Wasps showed high energy and maintained their positioning well which caused trouble for the Leeds side. Not to be discouraged by the amounting of Wasps pressure, Grierson adapted her style of play to stretch Wasps defence – she totalled 25 feeds for her side.
There was not a lot to split these two teams throughout this nail-biting match-up, both sides were determined to take the win.
A vital goal from Rushton and a key intercept from Oyesola was enough for Rhinos to sweep the victory.
Severn Stars 42-58 Celtic Dragons
Celtic Dragons secured a much-needed win away to Severn Stars in an epic Monday Night Netball fixture.
Dragons looked sharp as they took to the court and with some speedy passes and creative feeds, they took the early lead at the end of the first quarter, leading 16-10.
Despite Stars determination, they struggled to make back the deficit, going into halftime trailing 23-26.
Dragons continued their positive performance in the second half and led the scoring in both the third and fourth quarter; they closed the match leading by 14 and securing a coveted victory.
You can buy tickets for your local Vitality Netball Superleague team here.
Tickets for the Vitality Netball Superleague Spring Showdown are available here.
Make sure you’re following @NetballSL on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok for all the updates and latest content.
Subscribe on YouTube too for all the latest highlights.
