Surrey Storm took a huge leap towards securing a home Vitality Netball Superleague semi-final this evening with a 48-52 win over Hertfordshire Mavericks.
The hosts cruised to an early lead in the tie, but some decisive tactical changes at half time saw Storm push on in Q3 and Q4 to earn a vital win on the road.
All eyes across the Superleague were on the Hertfordshire Sports Village for the tie of the round, with both teams determined to get a win that would hand them the home advantage in next weekend’s semi-finals. These nerves looked to get the better of Storm in the early exchanges, with Mavericks taking a quick 8-2 lead. Surrey found their feet late on, but Hertfordshire led 14-8 at the first break.
Coach Kathryn Ratnapala opted to make personnel changes at the start of Q2 to stop the lead from running away from Storm, with Katt Ainsworth coming on at WD to push Amy Flanagan to C and Sophia Candappa to WA. The goals kept coming from Mavericks, but Pamela Cookey was able to net on the buzzer to keep their lead down to 5 at half time (28-23).
Josie Huckle came on at GK for Q3 to pair with Hannah Reid at the defensive end and immediately make her mark on the game, stealing 3 straight balls with some tight pressure on the Mavericks attackers. Rachel Dunn tied the game at 30-all midway into the quarter as Storm upped the ante at both ends, but could only manage to bring the deficit down to 2 goals heading into Q4 (39-37).
Mavericks opened the final quarter with an immediate turnover, but Storm were quick to reply to keep their hosts in check. Cookey tied the scores level again at 41-all before an all-important turnover saw Storm take the lead for the first time in the game! All that was needed from there was patience across the court to close out the win, which the duck egg blue army did in style. Final score – 48-52.
The victory sees Storm stay in 3rd place due to Maverick’s 0.02 superior goal average, meaning a win for Manchester Thunder against Mavericks on Monday evening could see Surrey creep into 2nd and book that all important home semi-final next Saturday evening (6pm centre-pass)!
To give fans the best chance of booking tickets for that game in the short time between confirming the game and the big day, ticket details will be released on the official Surrey Storm website this evening.
Storm starting 7:
GS – Dunn
GA – Cookey
WA – Lees
C – Candappa
WD – Flanagan
GD – Holland
GK – Reid
Changes for Storm: Ainsworth to WD, Flanagan to C, Candappa to WA (Q3), Huckle to GK, Reid to GD (Q4)
Mavericks starting 7:
GS – Wallace
GA – Clark
WA – Hankin
C – Carter
WD – May
GD – Guscoth
GK – Keable
Changes for Mavericks – Drayne to C, Fisher to GS (Q4)
Storm shooting stats:
Dunn 20/22 91%
Cookey 32/35 91%
Team 48/53 91%
Mavericks shooting stats:
Wallace 37/38 97%
Clark 8/12 67%
Fisher 2/2 100%
Team 48/53 91%
Quarter scores:
Q1 – 14-8
Q2 – 14-15 (28-23)
Q3 – 11-14 (39-37)
Q4 – 9-15 (48-52)
© Copyright 2024 Surrey Storm
