Despite a hugely improved performance, Yorkshire Jets were beaten in their Vitality Netball Superleague game with Hertfordshire Mavericks on Saturday.
In a physical game with high intensity and passion on both sides, the home side lost by 13 points but will have a huge amount of positives to take from the round four clash.
It was a strong opening quarter from Jets who put in an impressive performance in defence and attack. Showing more consistency than they had in the season so far they pulled ahead to lead 13-10 after the first 15 minutes.
There was a fightback from Mavericks in the second quarter as they closed the gap and then overtook the home side. But Jets, with Vanes-Mari Du Toit now at Goal Keeper, fought hard to keep the gap down and it meant the opposition only led by one point at half-time.
In the third quarter, Lucy Richardson came on at Wing Attack with Jess Shaw moving to Centre. After an end-to-end opening few minutes, Mavericks put together a strong message of play with a string of unanswered points. Despite Jets clawing their way back, they went into the final 15 minutes trailing by five.
The game went end-to-end during the final quarter but Jets couldn’t put together a fightback. Instead, Mavericks extended their lead in a disappointing 15 minutes for the home side to win the game by 13 points and continue their strong start to the season.
Yorkshire Jets return to action quickly with round five on Monday evening when they travel to the North East to take on Team Northumbria. Centre pass is 7.45pm for the game live on Sky Sports.
Yorkshire Jets 38 – Hertfordshire Mavericks 51
Attendance: 554
Player of the Match: Stacey Francis
Quarterly Scores:
Q1 – 13-10
Q2 – 22-23
Q3 – 31-36
Q4 – 38-51
Shooting Statistics
Yorkshire Jets – 68% (38/56)
Maria Lutua – 71% (22/31)
Alex Kirk – 82% (9/11)
Lucy Harris – 45% (5/11)
Ellie Smith – 67% (2/3)
Hertfordshire Mavericks – 81% (51/63)
Sammy Wallace – 81% (34/42)
Sophie Hankin – 0% (0/3)
George Fisher – 94% (17/18)
Starting 7s:
Yorkshire Jets
GS – Alex Kirk
GA – Maria Lutua
WA – Jess Shaw
C – Lydia Walker
WD – Sophie Halpin
GD – Stacey Francis
GK – Bea Skingsley
Hertfordshire Mavericks
GS – Sammy Wallace
GA – Sophie Hankin
WA – Michelle Drayne
C – Joline Johannson
WD – Sophie Carter
GD – Sam May
GK – Lindsay Keable
Match report courtesy of Stephen Naylor, Yorkshire Jets
