Fever delivers special Mother’s Day victory

West Coast Fever treated fans to a memorable Mother’s Day victory at RAC Arena when they last faced the Collingwood Magpies.

Fever came from behind to claim a 74-69 win over the Magpies in Round 8 of the 2022 Suncorp Super Netball season.

With the visitors leading by two goals at three-quarter time, and then extending that lead to four in the opening minutes of the final term, Fever dug deep and showed great composure to reclaim the lead and push ahead in the dying minutes.

A Suncorp Super Shot by Sasha Glasgow put the icing on the cake, following a penalty just before the final whistle. She finished the game with four from longrange, while Jhaniele Fowler was at her usual best, scoring 61 goals at 97 per cent accuracy.

Key Moments

With both teams looking for a breakthrough during an intense final quarter, an interception by Stacey Francis-Bayman proved to be a pivotal moment.

With less than six minutes remaining in the game and Fever trailing by three goals, Francis-Bayman’s hustle at the top of Fever’s defensive circle resulted in the gain, which gave her side great confidence and momentum heading into the Power 5.

The entire team then showed great composure to control play and Glasgow converted all three of her Super Shot attempts to help seal a great win.

Quarter By Quarter

1st – WCF 17 | COLL 16

Early nerves saw both sides turn the ball over before Fever hit the scoreboard through Fowler. The teams then traded goals, with Fowler scoring all 17 of Fever’s for the quarter while Shimona Nelson scored 13 for the Magpies and Sophie Garbin added three. Teague-Neeld was creative early with 10 goal assists, while Bruce caused headaches for the Magpies attackers with five deflections in the opening term.

2nd – WCF 19 | COLL 19

The arm wrestle continued with scores level through to the midway point of the second quarter. Zoe Cransberg entered the game at Centre and worked hard through the midcourt, while Teague-Neeld continued finding an avenue to Fowler with eight goal assists. Rudi Ellis moved into Goal Keeper after a time-out, releasing Bruce to Goal Defence. A Super Shot to Glasgow right before the half time whistle saw Fever lead 36-35 at the main break.

3rd – WCF 16 | COLL 19

Fever returned to their starting seven for the third term and an Aryang intercept in the opening minutes helped Fever build a three-goal lead, which they maintained through to the Power 5. Simmons landed awkwardly and left the court with a minute remaining before a Garbin Super Shot helped the Magpies hit the front for a three-quarter time lead of 54-52.

4th – WCF 22 | COLL 15

Cosh brought great energy to Goal Attack for the start of the final quarter but the Magpies gathered momentum and moved ahead by four points before a Fever timeout halfway through the quarter. Glasgow retuned to the game and had an immediate impact with a pair of Super Shots putting Fever up by two with four minutes remaining. After some great defensive efforts, they controlled the tempo and extended their advantage to four with less than two minutes on the clock. Another Glasgow Super Shot on the final whistle sealed the win 74-69.

ROUND 3 FEVER VS Collingwood

PREVIOUS MEETINGS Fever vs Collingwood

Match Preview

West Coast Fever will be looking to continue their undefeated start to the 2023 Suncorp Super Netball season when they take on the Collingwood Magpies at RAC Arena. Both sides are coming off one-goal thrillers. The Fever won their clash with the Giants while the Magpies are coming off a loss in the Melbourne Derby to the Vixens.

The Vixens snatched victory from the Magpies after Mwai Kumwenda slotted four Suncorp Super Shots in the dying momentsincluding one after the final whistle.

But the win was marred by an error in the final term in which the Vixens were awarded two centre passes in a row.

The Magpies won every quarter but the last and were consistent in their game plan. They fed the ball with incredible accuracy to shooter Shimona Nelson throughout the game, and the Vixens were unable to put a stop to it.

The Pies also stuck to what was working for them, with the mid-court showing great vision to be able to work it up and over to their GS.

Match Ups

The match ups at the Fever’s attacking end are mouth watering and could decide the match.

Jhaniele Fowler is shooting at 100 per cent so far this season and will be up against English international Geva Mentor in the circle.

While the in-form Jamaican international Jodi-Ann Ward will provide an obstacle for Fever’s attack by using her athleticism and ability to read to play to stop the home team.

She will be opposed to Sasha Glasgow who is coming off a terrific performance against the Giants. Glasgow scored five goals and five supershots and finished with more than 100 Nissan Net Points.

Facts & Stats

RD3 - RAC ARENA

SUN 2 APRIL 12PM

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Sasha Glasgow and Alice Teague-Neeld combined for 51 of Fever’s 65 goal assists against the Giants with Fowler capitalising with another perfect game in the circle. Fowler has scored 114 of Fever’s 136 goals in the first two games of the season.

While at the other end of the court, Courtney Bruce and Sunday Aryang had 12 gains, six intercepts and seven deflections as they attempted to nullify the Giants combination of Jo Harten and Sophie Dwyer.

For the Magpies, Shimona Nelson shot a near perfect game, finishing with 47/48 and taking her season tally to 100.

Jodi-Ann Ward backed up her amazing Round One display against the Swifts with another solid game in the Melbourne Derby. She finished with three gains, three deflections and three intercepts, to sit equal top in the competition for intercepts.

Kelsey Browne and Teague-Neeld have had nearly the same start to the season and the role each player plays for their team will be a major factor in the result. They sit even with 52 Centre Pass Receives, while Browne (47) is just ahead of Teague-Neeld (46) when it comes to Goal Assists.