Surrey Storm Netball secured their first win of the 2015 Superleague season on Saturday night with a 74-51 win over Yorkshire Jets at Surrey Sports Park.
Dominant 2nd and 3rd quarters for Storm handed them an unassailable lead as Jets failed to assert the same attacking prowess that they showed in round one.
A shaky start for the hosts saw Jets lead 0-3 early on, before a flying interception from Katy Holland allowed Storm to gain momentum and drag the deficit back. Fellow defender Hannah Reid followed up with an interception of her own to level the scores at 11-all, before accurate feeding from home debutant Mikki Austin handed Storm a 16-14 lead at the first break.
Jets opened the 2nd quarter with an immediate turnover, before two intercepts from Reid and Katt Ainsworth saw Storm creep ahead by 3. Storm kept pressing on in their quest to advance their advantage, working quickly and efficiently down court to allow the hosts to extend their lead to 38-25 at half time.
With a number of changes made at half time, Storm appeared to be having trouble settling as Jets tried to capitalise on unforced errors across the court. However yet another turnover from Greenway with a one-handed tip saw Surrey racing once again to the goal, with England captain Pamela Cookey diverting the defence and a long ball being pinged into Dunn who was able to sneak a final goal in the dying seconds of the quarter, and bringing the score to 56-38.
With tensions running high between the two teams in Storm’s attacking end, Surrey fuelled their friction with some quick attacking play, running away with the lead at 65-46. Playing now like the seasoned players they are known to be, Cookey showed her England calibre and use of speed to drive hard along the baseline to receive the ball under the post.
The quarter was concluded by a Storm signature move with Greenway launching the ball from mid-court into the shooting circle resulting in a goal, which handed Surrey a comfortable 74-51 victory.
Surrey Storm’s next fixture will be on Monday night when they travel to Team Bath in round 3, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports 2 from 7.30pm.
