Loughborough Lightening v Mavericks

The visiting Mavericks team looked strong. Their international defence of Amanda Newton (good to see her back on court after a long lay off through injury,) Janet Colbourne and Naomi Stenhouse were all available and they played! Lightning turned out an experienced squad although Ama Agbeze, Rebecca James and Jo Munnion - all regulars this season - were not to be seen.

The game started at a frenetic pace, with ball and players moving end to end. Scoring was slow to start - 4 minutes gone and only 2 goals on the board - to Loughborough. Interceptions ruled those early moments. The pace was such that when Janet Colbourne took a knock and was ready to resume immediately, her captain told her to take a time-out break for the benefit of the rest of the team. At the end of the first quarter Loughborough trailed 7-9.

The second quarter saw Loughborough dominate with a 14-8 scoreline, leaving them 21-17 in front.

Mavericks made some changes, with Heather Clarke coming on for a sickly Lynsey Armitage at GS. They fought back to take the quarter by 3, to leave them trailing by only 1.

The last quarter was set to be a nail biter. Mavericks kept the pressure on and took the lead. The clock had been turned off and we were in the last minute. There were seconds to go and the score stood at 38 all. The ball came down to Alex Astle and she shot for the net. Missed. The timekeeper was on her feet. Margaret Deighton blew- penalty/pass.

Alex shot and the ball went in. The whistle blew. Loughborough Lightning had won 39-38.

Starting sevens

• Loughborough Lightning
  • Alex Astle - GS
  • Lisa Stephenson - GS
  • Karen Atkinson - WA
  • Olivia Murphy - C
  • Jade Clarke - WD
  • Laura Brown - GD
  • Hannah Reid -GK
• Mavericks
  • Lynsey Armitage - GS
  • Louisa Brownfield - GA
  • Ann Marie Muller - WA
  • Deb Jones - C
  • Naomi Stenhouse - WD
  • Amanda Newton - GD
  • Janet Colbourne - GK

As always, more netball pictures are available at Countdavid’s wonderful site.