Mavericks had led by nine going into the final 15 minutes before the Sitec-sponsored Blue and Gold finally found the form that had eluded them earlier in the encounter, closing the final deficit to just 46-45.

The visitors had seemingly put a stranglehold on the fixture in the first three quarters, using the sizzling form in defence of former Team Bath squad member Summer Artman and in centre-court from Rose Morgan-Smith.

Mavericks led 9-14 and then 18-26 at half-time before easing out to 29-38 at three-quarter-time with Team Bath experiencing some unwanted spillages in their attack whilst struggling to contain the Mavericks attack.

Head coach Anna Stembridge deployed the full range of her 2017 squad for the first time this season as Jess Shaw – younger sister of Rachel Shaw – was back and fit.

She came on in the second quarter at wing-attack and, whilst she took a while to settle, was soon proving a handful for the opposition in tandem with flying centre Mia Ritchie.

More importantly even if slowly, the home side, roared on by a 1000-strong crowd, began to find their shooters with consistency and Jamaican international Shantal Slater found her range in a final quarter in which she slotted home six in rapid succession. However, it wasn’t quite enough as Mavericks held on.

Stembridge said: We’re absolutely gutted, we left ourselves with just too much to do. We were eight goals down at half-time and you can’t give teams like Mavericks that kind of lead.

“Don’t get me wrong, we still had belief we could win the game but it’s a big ask to turn around that kind of deficit, especially as their shooting was so on point. We kept battling right until the very end and I’m really proud of how we fought back but it wasn’t our night. It’s so frustrating and disappointing for the girls.

“On a positive note, I thought Jess Shaw was absolutely outstanding when she came on. She’s just coming back from injury but she had such a positive impact on our play and we saw today just what a talent she is.”

Shaw said: “It was lovely to be back out there and just a shame we couldn’t quite turn it around. It was a tough battle but we really pushed hard and the crowd were absolutely amazing, our eighth player.

“I feel we are building and hopefully we can take the momentum from that last quarter into our match at Loughborough Lightning on Monday.”

Some unwanted spillages in attack had contributed to Team Bath going into the first break five down on the visitors. Morgan-Smith provided a potent feed down the left side and into the circle in attack, whilst Artman, at goal-keeper, and Razia Quashie, at goal-defence, were lively in their defensive circle.

Imogen Allison, at wing-defence for Team Bath, produced some flying intercepts, but the home side struggled to reach their shooters, Slater and Chelsea Lewis, consistently.

Injury to Slater with ten minutes gone offered Team Bath’s Paige Read another opportunity to have impact at goal-attack with Lewis moving to shooter.

Read, who made her Superleague debut just a week ago, was herself substituted part-way through quarter two, though, as Coach Stembridge moved Rachel Shaw to goal-attack and brought her sister Jess Shaw on at wing-attack.

There were some more promising patches for Team Bath but Mavericks continued to pull ahead and led 13-23 with five minutes of the half remaining.

Artman continued to produce some eye-catching play whilst Rachel Shaw and Lewis were still often dislocated in their individual good intentions.

The younger Shaw found her pace and range for Team Bath in the third quarter and was instrumental in a good sequence which saw the home side draw within five points at 26-31.

Two long-range shots from the older Shaw just fell the wrong side of the rim and Mavericks pounced to go to 27-36 ahead.  A feisty final few minutes of the quarter saw two quick-fire goals from the home side but the visitors went into the final break 29-38 ahead.

Just when it looked as if Mavericks would coast to a comfortable victory Team Bath found the pace and precision that they have been threatening but not finding in the past month.  They put on four goals early in the quarter to close the gap to just five.  At 37-41 down captain Eboni Beckford Chambers twice turned over the ball only to see it drift back to Mavericks.

It fell to Vangalee Williams, Team Bath’s other Jamaican, at wing-defence to make the decisive interception that sent the hosts on another three-goal spree to move the score to 40-43, much to the delight of a frenzied and loud home crowd.

Home centre Mia Ritchie was involved in a juddering mid-air collision with Mavericks’ goal-defence with just under three minutes remaining but recovered and rejoined the attack which brought the home side within two goals at 43-45.

A scoreboard clock misfunction added to the tension of the final few minutes as Team Bath moved to 44.45 only for Mavericks to keep their heads and find the net one more time.  Team Bath picked up one further goal but found themselves in the defensive third of the court – with no option for a final attack – as the final hooter sounded.

Friday afternoon’s match was the second of four home fixtures for Team Bath during an action-packed April and May. They welcome Celtic Dragons on Saturday, April 22 (5pm) and Severn Stars on Friday, April 28 (7.45pm) before their big televised game against Wasps on May 8 (7.45pm).  A first-ever home clash with Sirens will close out the home league season on May 19 (7.45pm)

Tickets for all those matches – priced £12 for adults, £8 concessions and £35 for family tickets – are available at here or by calling 0844 888 4412.

Friday’s match was preceded by the second match of the new U21 Netball Performance League season, also against Hertsfordshire. Team Bath got off to a slow start and couldn’t close the gap on the visitors who won 41-54.

Team Bath Netball are sponsored by Sitec, Mogers Drewett are their Education Partners, Centurion Wealth Management are supporting the team’s performance analysis capabilities, Surridge are the kit supplier and Skins provide the team with compression wear.

Match stats

Team Bath Netball

Starting Seven: GS: Shantal Slater; GA: Chelsea Lewis; WA: Rachel Shaw; C: Mia Ritchie; WD: Imogen Allison; GD: Layla Guscoth; GK: Eboni Beckford-Chambers.

Replacements: Sam Cook, Paige Reed, Laura Rudland, Jess Shaw, Vangelee Williams.

Changes: Q1:  Slater – Bench; Read – Bench – GA.  Q2:  Read GA – Bench; Lewis GA – GS; Jess Shaw Bench – WA; Q3:  Williams – Bench – WD; Allison WD – Bench.  Q4:  Slater – Bench – GA; Lewis GS – GA; Rachel Shaw – GA – Bench.

Hertfordshire Mavericks.

Starting Seven: GS: Vicklyn Joseph; GA: Sophie Drakeford-Lewis; WA: Keshia Grant; C: Rose Morgan-Smith; WD: Zara Everitt; GD: Razia Quashie; GK: Summer Artman

Replacements:  Halimat Adio; Michelle Drayne; Sophie Hankin; Lindsay Keable; Ashleigh Neal.

Changes: Q3: Neal – GA; Drakeford-Lewis – bench. Q4: Drakeford-Lewis – GA; Neal – bench.

Quarter scores (Team Bath first)

Q1: 9-14; Q2: 9-12 (18-26); Q3: 11-12 (29-38); Q4: 16-8 (45-46).

Attendance: 1,000.

Report courtesy of Team Bath Press Office via Matchtight Ltd.

Photo: Mark Pritchard

But the Black and Yellows started to turn on the charm in the second half and a fluid and classy final quarter stamped out any resistance left in a spirited Mavericks squad.

Coach Karen Greig was pleased her charge was able to keep up their winning run, despite a sluggish start.

“We made it hard for ourselves in that first half, we’ve not played since last Friday and we were slow out of the blocks and it showed.

“But once we started sticking to task and believing in each other, it really started to come together,” she said.

“You can see how the game opened up in the third quarter and we played with a lot more confidence and we were letting the ball do the work. We pushed on in the last quarter and we all had a great game in the end.”

Greig was full of praise for a strong showing from Mavericks, who are ‘really strong’ defensively.

She added: “They posed us plenty of problems but once we started implementing what we needed, it worked for us and they made changes in the defensive end so it was nice that we were able to force them into that.”

Thunder started sluggishly and were chasing Mavericks’ shadows for large patches of the opening quarter.

They picked up momentum and composure midway through Q1 but were unable to retain it, and Mavericks took a four-goal lead into the first break.

It was more of the same in the second quarter, as Mavericks continued to take the initiative, with Thunder unable to gain any kind of consistency in attack.

Star shooter Joyce Mvula was slightly off-colour and she was replaced by an impressive Amy Clinton just before half time. It was Greig’s only change of the game and it was proven to be a justified one.

Photo: Mark Pritchard

As at just 19, Clinton showed great maturity and composure to only miss one shot in such a high-pressure situation.

It is also worth noting that once again Kathryn Turner put in a solid showing at goal attack, scoring a series of nerve-settling long-shots throughout the game.

The second half was a different story for Thunder as they began to move through the gears straight after the break.

Lead wonderfully by player of the match Liana Leota at wing attack, Thunder’s attack began to patiently pick apart Mavericks’ defence.

They were supported resolutely by the defensive trio of Bea Skingsley, Emma Dovey and Kerry Almond, who are becoming a real nuisance for any opposition they face.

Thunder turned the screw in the final quarter, offering their fans in a packed Thunderdome, and at home watching on Sky Sports Mix, some real flair and fast-paced netball.

Mavericks refused to give up and pestered Thunder right up until the final whistle with tight marking but the home side held on to take the win, which lifts them into the play-off places, level on points with Wasps.

Greig will not have to worry about having too much time in-between games this week, as Thunder next play Team Bath on Friday night.

Player of the match comments from Liana Leota:  “I was surprised to get player of the match as I’m still getting back into playing a full game, but I’m chuffed.

“We needed to work on our passing today and we didn’t have trust in each other. But I knew it would come, it was just a case of when in the game.

“It’s really good to get a fifth win in a row. Losing at the start (of the season) has helped us and we know what we need to do to not be in that position again.”

Thunder starting 7 to face Mavericks: GK Almond, GD Dovey, WD Skingsley, C Marshall, WA Leota, GA Turner, GS Mvula

Report courtesy of Manchester Thunder

The Vitality Netball Superleague season’s showpiece fixture also saw the hosts maintain their unbeaten start to their 2017 campaign, making it four wins out of four to keep their spot at the top of the table.

Despite the impressive score line Player of the Match Mikki Austin (pictured above) said that “consistency across all 4 quarters was key in the win” and that “the contest was tight and physical throughout.”

Director of Netball Tania Hoffman made two changes to the line-up which defeated Team Northumbria a week previous, bringing Naida Hutchinson into the fold to face up against her old side at GK and Georgia Lees back in at WA.

Storm were lively in the opening exchanges, quickly building a 7-2 lead after just a few minutes thanks to some comfortable attacking plays into Megan Craig and Katie Harris. Hutchinson didn’t need long to settle into the starting 7 with a number of interceptions in Q1, allowing Storm to open with a 15-11 lead at the first break.

Mavericks looked like they were keen to quickly turn the tables in Q2, with two straight goals from the off. The Storm defensive pairing of Katy Holland and Captain Hutchinson continued to keep the Mavericks attack under firm pressure, but they managed to keep the gap at just 2 goals. Scarlett Williams came into her own at WD late on in the period, allowing her shooters to re-extend the lead to 31-23 at half time.

It was from here that Storm really pushed their opponents hard. The lead was quickly into double figures thanks to consistent defensive pressure from Holland, with Craig and Harris putting balls away in effortless fashion at the opposite end. Sutherland arrived on court mid-way into the quarter to replace Williams, but by that point Storm had pushed their lead to 13 with Mavericks looking like they had no way to stop the goals flowing in. Q3 ended 52-34 to Storm – a 21-11 quarter for the hosts.

Yas Parsons hit the court at WA to kick off Q4, but it took around a minute and a half for either team to sink a goal until Craig was there to again extend the lead. Mavericks were able to make the most of the odd sloppy ball from Storm but it wasn’t enough to prevent Storm from stealing back the London Live crown and taking a dominating 67-45 win in the capital and keep their spot at the top of the Superleague table.

Storm will take full confidence from the win into their round 5 game at Team Bath in just over a week’s time (Monday 20th February).

[Pictured: Player of the Match Mikki Austin in action at the Copper Box Arena. Credit Graham Hodges]

It maintained Team Bath’s 100 per cent record for the 2017 season and set them up perfectly for their first home match, against Loughborough Lightning at the University of Bath on Monday, March 6 (7.45pm).

Photo: Bryn Vaile for Matchtight

Mid-court dynamo Mia Ritchie said: “We seemed to make it tough for ourselves but we also knew at the end of the third quarter that there was no way we were going to lose the game, no way at all. Credit to the defenders for turning the ball over massively throughout and in the fourth quarter we started to reward them at the shooting end.

“The fans enjoyed it and it’s important for us a team to come through a game like that and win it. There will be a lot more games like that to come and that will stand us in good stead.”

Layla Guscoth, who was outstanding in defence against her former franchise, added: “It’s always a good contest between Bath and Mavs – I’m glad to be on the winning end of it this time! Both teams wanted to win it so much.

“The fans were absolutely incredible, it was so nice to look up in the stands and see all the Blue and Gold banners waving. I’m really looking forward to my first home game against Lightning now.”

The previous four matches during Super Ten – which saw all of the Superleague franchises in action during one day – had been relatively one-sided affairs but there was nothing to choose between Team Bath and Mavericks during the opening three quarters of a feisty encounter.

A tense opening period saw the teams exchange goals early on before the Blue and Gold pulled away to lead 10-5, only for Mavericks to peg them back once again.

Captains Eboni Beckford-Chambers and Vicklyn Joseph were called in to cool their teams down after a couple of overly-physical challenges but it was Team Bath who finished the quarter with their noses in front thanks to two late goals from Chelsea Lewis.

The Welsh shooter was struggling for her usual consistency in front of goal but kept plugging away during a second period that saw both defences continue to produce concerted pressure.

Mavericks took the lead for the first time as they edged into a 14-13 advantage, then – after a period where the teams went goal for goal – they increased the gap to 22-19 with less than a minute of the half remaining.

Lewis again scored twice in the dying stages, the second coming right on the buzzer, as Team Bath cut the half-time deficit to 22-21.

Team Bath made some changes for the third quarter, with Shantal Slater coming on at GS, Lewis moving to GA and University of Bath student Imogen Allison coming on at WD.

And she made her presence felt during a physical 15 minutes – being warned by the officials at one point – which again saw little to choose between the two teams. The lead changed hands several times but it was Team Bath who held a narrow 33-32 advantage going into the final quarter.

With the defence continuing to dominate and securing plenty of turnover, Team Bath finally clicked going forward and they began to pull away as Slater and Lewis found a clinical edge to their shooting. The supporters had plenty of opportunity to wave their Blue and Gold banners as their team pushed ahead to record a hard-fought 49-42 victory.

Director of Netball Jess Thirlby said: “In that second half we created a lot more turnover ball but it wasn’t just that, the whole unit was more clinical.  I thought Mia and Rachel [Shaw] were great around the circle edge, too.

“We wanted to focus on the positives and, yes, we could have taken an earlier lead perhaps with some more consistency but I thought we got a lot of ball into the circle and the shooters fell just a bit short.

“Imogen [Allison] made a brilliant impact in the second half. That was her debut and she not only contributed a lot to the turnovers but put a lot of pressure on.

“There is a lot of history between us and Mavericks. The games are always tight and well contested. I thought our supporters were fantastic. There seemed to be so many of them and they made a lot of noise.  We commented on it from the start on the bench. It was good to hear.”

Tickets are on sale now for the home match against Lightning. Visit https://www.teambath.com/events/ticketline/ for further details.

Team Bath Netball are sponsored by Sitec, Mogers Drewett are their Education Partners, Centurion Wealth Management are supporting the team’s performance analysis capabilities, Surridge are the kit supplier and Skins provide the team with compression wear.

Match stats

Team Bath Netball

Starting seven: GS Chelsea Lewis; GA Laura Rudland; WA Rachel Shaw; C Mia Ritchie; WD Vangelee Williams; GD Layla Guscoth; GK Eboni Beckford-Chambers. Bench: Imogen Allison, Sam Cook, Paige Reed, Shantal Slater.

Changes: Q2: Cook – bench to WD, WD to bench; Williams – WD to bench, bench to WD. Q3: Slater – bench to GS; Lewis – SG to GA; Rudland – GA to bench; Allison – bench to WD; Williams – WD to bench.

Hertfordshire Mavericks

Starting seven: GS Vicklyn Joseph; GA Sophie Hankin; WA Michelle Drayne; C Keshia Grant; WD Zara Everitt; GD Razia Quashie; GK Summer Artman. Bench: Halimat Adio, Sophie Drakeford-Lewis, Lindsay Keable, Rose Morgan-Smith, Ashleigh Neal.

Quarter scores (Team Bath second)

Q1: 10-12. Q2: 22-21 (12-9). Q3: 32-33 (10-12). Q4: 42-49 (10-16).

Attached: Pictures of Chelsea Lewis and Imogen Allison (WD) in action for Team Bath Netball against Hertfordshire Mavericks. CREDIT: Bryn Vaile for Matchtight.

Helen Housby (Photo: Manchester Thunder)

From defence through to attack, the Black and Yellows were on the money and despite a spirited fightback from Mavericks in the third quarter – and the introduction of star shooter Sammy Wallace at half time – Thunder ran out comfortable winners.

The match was the rescheduled game between the pair after the original fixture was abandoned due to a roof leak, and confirmed Thunder will play Team Bath in the semi-finals, while Mavericks will take on London rivals Surrey Storm for a place in the final at the Copperbox on May 7.

Thunder were especially effective in defence, as Jamaican Malysha Kelly combined well with Jodie Gibson and Emma Dovey slotted right into the game when she replaced the young England defender.

However at the root of everything good Thunder did was captain Sara Bayman, who again showed why she is so pivotal to her team’s success and why she has been nominated for the Vitality Superleague Player of the Season Award.

Sara Bayman (Photo: Manchester Thunder)

She produced a string of intercepts, completed countless imaginative passes and worked tirelessly from the first whistle to the last.

Bayman, who was also named player of the match tonight, said: “The score makes it look easier than it was. They missed having Sammy Wallace available for the whole game but we have to be pleased with the way we played.

“We switched off for six or seven minutes in the third quarter and we need to take that out of our game for the semi-finals.

“Today we were aware we could have an effect on the standings and we didn’t want anyone to accuse us of not putting 100 per cent in. We are not messing about this year.”

The first quarter was a fairly even contest as the sides traded turnovers and both defences aimed to restrict their opposition’s attacking line.

Malysha Kelly (Photo: Manchester Thunder)

But Thunder managed to edge their noses in front by the end of the quarter and never really looked back from that point.

Defensively they suffocated Mavericks in the second quarter to really take the game away from the Purple and Blacks and headed in at half time 13 goals to the good (35-22).

Thunder’s attack was pretty consistent for all four quarters but Mavericks’ Sam May and Layla Guscoth had periods of great success in restricting the home team’s feeds into the shooters, with Thunder forced into patient build up play.

Eleanor Cardwell showed great footwork and mobility to get herself into great shooting positions and continued her good form, slotting in well at the tip of the attacking triangle of Natalie Haythornthwaite and Helen Housby, with Kathryn Turner playing her part effectively when she came on for the Cumbrian at goal attack in the second half.

Final score: Manchester Thunder 64 Herts Mavericks 50

Thunder finish top of the league after securing 13 wins from 14 and will head into Saturday’s home semi-final with confidence and belief that they can reach their second final in three seasons.

Thunder starting 7 v Hertfordshire Mavericks: GK Kelly, GD Gibson, WD Malcolm, C Bayman, WA Haythornthwaite, GA Housby, GS Cardwell

Report by Denise Evans Manchester Thunder

A 6,332-strong crowd packed into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park venue to witness a gritty, physical Vitality Netball Superleague clash, and Maverick’s first win in the annual meeting between the two sides.

Feeling confidence after a big win at Manchester Thunder in round 6, Storm Head Coach Kathryn Ratnapala named an unchanged side to face Mavericks in the 3rd edition of Netball London Live. And it was clear from the opening exchanges that Storm were in for another close encounter. Mavericks pilled on the defensive pressure but with Rachel Dunn and Pamela Cookey adjusting to it late on, the score line was finely poised at 10-all at the first break.

Hertfordshire came out of the blocks quickest in Q2, with a 3-9 run that saw them 13-19 up midway into the quarter, before taking a 20-27 lead into the dressing rooms at half time thanks to a superb shooting performance from Sophie Hankin.

With quick action needed to turn the game around and stop the ball from reaching the flawless Mavericks attack, Coach Ratnapala made several changes for Q3. Josie Huckle came on at GK, allowing Hannah Reid to push forward to GD, while Amy Flanagan came on at C to move Sophia Candappa into WD.

The changes showed promise early on in the quarter, with Reid’s aggression allowing Storm to pick out an interception on the edge of the circle to feed through to Cookey and Dunn who were still shooting with accuracy. Despite this Storm were only able to reduce the deficit by a single goal in the quarter, Mavericks holding a 34-40 heading into the final period.

Goals needed to come thick and fast if Surrey were to take anything from the game and protect their Copper Box crown, so the pace was upped to increase the chances on goal. Candappa found Dunn with a huge whole third pass late on before Cookey converted a late turnover, but it was too little too late for the side in duck egg blue as Mavericks closed out a big performance to take a 50-55 win. Perfect revenge for the Hertfordshire side, and painful realisation for Storm that their unbeaten run in the capital had come to an end.

The result sees Mavericks sit second in the Vitality Netball Superleague table on goal average, while Storm miss an opportunity to leap frog their rivals and stay 4th.

Early in the day Maiden Erlegh School were crowned COCO5 Road to Copper Box Arena champions with a 25-15 win over St. Christopher’s School and Storm NPL stayed unbeaten with a 56-31 victory against Mavericks NPL.

Report courtesy of Surrey Storm

– ENDS –

[Pictured: Amy Flanagan couldn’t stop the defeat despite her second half performance. Credit Gary Baker]

It was a gritty performance against a stubborn Mavericks side, who were the better team for the opening quarter, but were ultimately over-run by a dogged and clinical Thunder.

Mavericks found themselves in a seven-goal lead in the first half, but Thunder kept the belief and it felt inevitable that as soon as they clawed themselves in front, they would not relinquish the lead.

This never-say-die attitude is something captain Sara Bayman says sets her side apart from the rest.

The England star said: “They started well but we made unforced errors in that first quarter.

“The most pleasing thing is that we never deviated from the game-plan we continued to try and do what we set out to, but do it better.

“That was the difference. When you’re seven or eight goals down, what’s the worst that can happen? It already has. That’s our mentality – let’s go out and play.

“No one believed we were going to lose it. There was still a composure about us and we were willing to put in three good quarters to make sure we did. Our response was too strong for what they had out there and they knew we wouldn’t lay down and die.”

Thunder completed the regular season unbeaten last year, only to fall at the semi-final stage to tonight’s opponent, and Bayman is convinced that experience will benefit the Black and Yellows this time around.

“We have to enjoy being undefeated. As soon as you play well, there’s a target on your back. Teams do up their game when they play us,” she claims, “and it’s almost a compliment as everyone hates winners – think about Manchester United in the 90s, everyone wanted to beat them. We just need to make sure we step up for the next match,” added the 31-year-old.

Thunder were slow out of the blocks and coupled with Mavericks’ powerful early waves of attack, the visiting side were left flapping at thin air as the Purple and Blacks’ game plan worked like a dream. Their attacks were fluid and controlled and their defensive unit – lead by Leila Guscoth – stifled an uncharacteristically quiet Thunder frontline.

Following an error-strewn opening period, skipper Bayman admitted that her side were forced to ‘start again’ at the start of the second quarter. A relatively ineffective Ellie Cardwell was brought off and Natalie Haythornthwaite came on at goal attack, with Helen Housby switching to goal shooter.

Coach Dan Ryan’s sole change in this match turned out to be a pivotal one, with young England shooter Haythornthwaite bringing variety and speed to Thunder’s attack.

She continued her burgeoning relationship with Helen Housby, seamlessly latching on to some rocket feeds from Bayman and Liana Leota.

The New Zealand wing attack really showed her credentials in the second half, flashing audacious passes in the blink of an eye to her shooters and carving up the Mavericks defence with textbook footwork and movement.

It was a game of high intensity throughout, with long periods of the match going goalless with a number of mini duels taking place in the mid -court, namely between Sam May and Leota.

Keeper Mally Kelly put in another strong performance and was assisted by Laura Malcolm and Jodie Gibson, who both popped up with timely interceptions.

Thunder are clearly now the team to beat.

On Monday they face a wounded Surrey Storm, who were beaten by a single goal in their Saturday match. And the defending champions will be baying for their rival’s blood in front of the Sky Sports cameras, desperate to a second defeat on the bounce.

Thunder starting 7: GK Kelly, GD Gibson, WD Malcolm, C Bayman, WA Leota, GA Housby, GS Cardwell

Report by Denise Evans, Manchester Thunder