Fearless era: Swifts’ best start to a season since 2010
Steve Barrett |
The NSW Swifts have continued their unbeaten start to the Super Netball season, making it seven wins in a row with a clinical 70-62 victory over Sunshine Coast Lightning at UniSC Arena.
The ladder leaders gained separation with a strong first half on Saturday, before blowing the contest apart with a dominant 19-11 third quarter.
The Swifts, who had only previously won twice from nine attempts on the Sunshine Coast and missed the finals last year, are now 7-0 and enjoying their best start to a season since 2010.
Grace Nweke buried 50 goals from 56 attempts, while shooting partner Helen Housby had 21 assists to go with 16 goals, including four two-pointers.
“Coming here, I wanted to grow my game, be more versatile, play out of the circle and change it up a bit,” Nweke said.
“Building on our previous wins, we want to keep consolidating and getting stronger.”
Nweke and Housby combined superbly in the circle from the outset, while at the other end goal defence Sharni Lambden suffocated Lightning superstar Liz Watson early.
Watson had three of Sunshine Coast’s seven first-quarter turnovers, with NSW taking advantage to move ahead 17-13.
Watson shook off her shaky start to thrive in the second term after being released off Lambden into the centre, where she racked up several influential touches.
But Housby’s super-shot prowess meant the Swifts still had the upper hand, up 34-29 at halftime.
Sunshine Coast captain Steph Fretwell, who had her hands full with Maddy Turner, was uncharacteristically inaccurate at goal in her 150th game as the contest got right away from the hosts in a lopsided third stanza.
The Lightning struggled to contain the Swifts’ Paige Hadley-led midcourt, while Nweke and Housby continued to fire on all cylinders in attack as NSW motored ahead 53-40.
The margin blew out to 68-50 with less than four minutes to play, before Cara Koenen and Fretwell went on a belated 12-0 tear from long range to minimise some of the damage.
AAP
