A sea of purple fans packed out the Sir David Wallace sports arena last night for the Superleague Lightning vs. Jets match. The crowd was loud, the players were pumped and it looked like a spectacular show down was about to take place.
Coach Atkinson started with Maweni, Massey and Forbes at GK, GD and WD respectively. Henry and Joseph started in their now familiar combination of C and WA, while the dynamic shooting duo of Holtzhausen and Proscovia donned the GA and GS bibs.
Source: Loughborough Lightning
Both teams got off to a shaky start but Lightning nailed the first goal of the night. Jets settled into the match well and started to stack points on the score board. Lightning started to find their feet on defence and turned over some well contested ball. However, Jets good start paid off and they took the first quarter 21-10.
Walker came off the bench to done the GA bib and Henry and Joseph switched it up on court at WA and C. A much better start from Lightning saw them sink a couple of consecutive goals and bring the score line closer. It was turning out to be a game of shooters with Cato at the other end of the court working her tall magic, keeping Jets comfortably in the lead. Intensity stepped up from both teams in the final minutes, resulting in some rapid play and conversions at goal. However, Jets continued to maintain their lead 37-25.
No changes for the third quarter. Lightning get off to a cracking start and pull the score line to a 10 point game. Lightning’s mid court defence was causing havoc to Jet’s through court plays, resulting in hard won turn over ball. The score line continued to inch closer to only a 5 point lead for Jets. Only a few minutes left and both teams were going goal for goal. A spectacular feed into Proscovoia finished the quarter with Lightning trailing just 4 points behind Jets, 49-45.
Source: Loughborough Lightning
No changes for the final quarter. Both teams came out firing for the last 15 minutes. Lightning held their own, continuing to go goal for goal against Jets. Jet’s continued to apply strong defensive pressure within the shooting circle and were rewarded with turnover ball that inched the score line closer in their favour. Lightning continued to challenge every play but it wasn’t quite enough. The final whistle sounded and the victory went to Jets, 65-56.
Coach Atkinson’s comments after the match: If we are going to compete with the top 4 teams we need to start better than we did tonight. We generated plenty of turnover ball, starved them of possession but could not take it through to a shooting opportunity. Having said that I was extremely proud of the character and fight the girls displayed and their third quarter performance was exceptional. We just need to be more clinical with our possession at crucial times.
It was a brilliant atmosphere last night, created by the fans and the Lightning team would like to thank them all for their vocal support.
Karen Atkinson: As a Lightning squad we would like to thank the crowd at Sir David Wallace. It was fantastic to play in front of such a large vocal crowd and they really got behind the girls and pulled them back into the game. We can’t wait to play here again!
Lightning’s next home game will see them take on Mavericks in another battle at the Sir David Wallace Sports hall. We have an additional 400 tickets available so get in quick and don’t miss out on viewing another epic clash of amazing competitive, athletic ability. http://tickets.sky.com/Netball/Loughborough-Lightning
