NETBALL
MAVERICKS DOMINATED BY SUPERLEAGUE LEADERS SURREY STORM
Surrey Storm WA Tamsin Greenway takes possession
Wednesday January 27,2010
By Express.co.uk reporter
SURREY Storm have maintained their unbeaten record with a 43-27 win over Hertfordshire Mavericks in the Co-operative Netball Superleague.
Still top of the Superleague table, Surrey Storm benefited from the defensive partnership of England’s Sonia Mkoloma and Geva Mentor.
But in the Storm circle, sharp shooter Rachel Dunn was hotly pursued by ex-England captain Amanda Newton.
And WD Jaime Galley had one of the hardest jobs of the night marking Maverick attack and England co-captain Karen Atkinson.
Repeated contact by Galley resulted in a two-goal sin bin for the defender but Storm still powered to a 10-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Mavericks made changes in the shooting circle and excellent defensive pressure through the mid-court saw them level with the home side 11-11.
|
|
Mavericks' Amanda Newton was in hot pursuit of the Surrey Storm attack
|
Mentor responded with crowd-pleasing intercepts and Rachel Dunn - later voted Co-operative player of the match - failed to miss a shot in the second quarter. Meanwhile Tamsin Greenway masterminded the attack to take Storm to a five goal lead at half time.
The away side made more changes with former London and South East player Vicklyn Joseph joining the court and nippy Rose Morgan-Smith subbed in at wing attack. And Natasha Hampshire donned the centre bib for Storm.
Storm GA Michelle Hall - a former Maverick - was finding more space against her old side but it was Rachel Dunn who was stealing the show with shots from all over the circle. With England teammate Greenway feeding her plenty of ball, Storm extended their lead to 11 goals.
Mavericks came out fighting in the last quarter but consistent defensive pressure turned the ball over for Storm.
Coach Mary Beardwood still believes the squad has more to give. She said: “I can’t believe how much ball we turned over and how much we threw away.
“I must give credit to Mavericks, they pushed us all the way and we had a shaky start to both the first and second quarters but then we showed our strength and power and put together some awesome passages of play”.
Beardwood, whose squad now faces reigning champions Team Bath in a sell out match on Friday night at Guildford Spectrum, added: “[Tonight's performance] posted a message to Team Bath about Friday’s match and I am excited because this squad has still yet to fulfil their potential”.
Storm captain Sonia Mkoloma added: “It was great to get a good result against an opposition of their calibre and was good preparation for Team Bath. We were controlled and consistent in our decision making which was really important."
CUMULATIVE SCORES
(Storm/Mavericks)
Q1 10/8
Q2 20/15
Q3 33/22
Q4 43/27
STARTING LINE UPS
SURREY STORM
GS Rachel Dunn, GA Michelle Hall, WA Tamsin Greenway, C Becky Nash, WD Jaime Galley, GD Sonia Mkoloma (Capt), GK Geva Mentor
Subs: Rhianne McHale, Natasha Hampshire, Gemma Wiseman, Chrissy Fitzgerald, Hannah Reid
CHANGES
Q3: Natasha Hampshire to C
Q4: Geva Mentor to GD, Sonia Mkoloma to GK
HERTFORDSHIRE MAVERICKS
GS Louisa Brownfield (Capt), GA Ella Clark, WA Karen Atkinson, C Laurelle Borck, WD Camilla Buchanan, GD Naida Hutchinson, GK Amanda Newton
Subs: Naomi Stenhouse, Hazel Schofield, Rose Morgan-Smith, Monique Wood, Vicklyn Joseph
CHANGES
Q2: Louisa Brownfield to GA, Ella Clark to GS
Q3: Karen Atkinson to C, Rose Morgan-Smith to WA, Vicklyn Joseph to GS
Q4: Louisa Brownfield to GS, Monique Wood to GA
UMPIRES
Tracy Smith, Jo Kelly and Kylie Woodhead
