Loughborough Lightning put up a strong fight against The Co-operative Netball Superleague leaders Team Bath in their own back yard on Saturday (7 March) as a late comeback saw them get within two points of their University rivals – the match finishing 47-45 to Bath.
The top of the table clash was played out in front of a packed arena as Bath successfully defended their 15-match unbeaten record.
Team Bath entered the court through a haze of smoke and a vocal crowd urging them on but Lightning were not to be phased.
The visitors were on the back foot from the start, after throwing away their first centre pass of the game and Team Bath immediately capitalised with shooter Rachel Dunn calmly securing the first goal.
Lightning Wing Defence Olivia Murphy intercepted from the next Bath centre pass and the scores were level. But Lightning took their time to adapt to the physical and aerial nature of their opponents’ game, missing crucial early shots at goal and allowing the home favourites to edge the quarter 14-11.
During the break Lightning made changes in both their attacking and defensive circles in an effort to counter the speed of the Bath game - Emma Bliss and Lisa Stephenson replacing Kara Luck and Alex Kirk, and Jo Harten moving to Goal Attack. Team Bath also made changes, switching Eboni Beckford-Chambers and Stacey Francis at Goal Keeper and Goal Defence.
Francis made an immediate impact, flying for several crowd-pleasing interceptions. Bath captain Pam Cookey was her usual reliable self dominating the home attack and consistently finding the net at Goal Defence. Team Bath repeated their score line from the first quarter to push the margin to six, leaving the half time score at 28-22.
Luck returned for Lightning at the start of the second half, while captain Jade Clarke and Murphy swapped places in the centre court. Keeper Hannah Reid got to grips with England’s Dunn and Lightning were able to disrupt the Team Bath rhythm.
Unfortunately though, Lightning struggled to convert their turnovers which led to the lowest scoring quarter of the match. Lightning reduced the deficit to five with a 10-9 quarter scoreline, setting up a thrilling final period.
After the break Kirk returned to the court for Lightning, and Bath’s Serena Guthrie and Sara Bayman switched positions at Wing Defence and Centre. Bath looked confident with Cookey increasing her shooting rate to an excellent 96%, and a few controversial umpiring decisions led to Bath pushing out the lead.
However Lightning battled on, and with their evident team spirit and a string of interceptions from Clarke, the last five minutes of the match was an edge of the seat affair.
The crowd came alive as Lightning brought the game to within two goals, scoring 13 points to Bath’s 10, but time ran out and Team Bath retained their unbeaten record with the final score of 47-45.
With two more matches to go this week before the four play-off positions are determined, Lightning player-coach Olivia Murphy believes Saturday’s performance gives her team the psychological edge.
“The team spirit and desire of Lightning was on display for all to see,” she said. “We have a crucial week coming up, and we are now more confident of our ability to perform under pressure.”
“We were really proud of our defensive effort as a team,” added Goal Defence Kara Luck. “Unfortunately we didn’t quite catch Bath in the end but we’ve proved we can be a match for them across four quarters.”
Loughborough Lightning face third-placed Mavericks away on Thursday (12 March) before returning home for their final league match of the season on Saturday (14 March), against Brunel Hurricanes at 6pm. Both matches will determine whether Lightning stay in the top four to qualify for the play-offs. For tickets and more information log onto www.loughboroughlightning.co.uk
Quarter scores:
Q1: 14-11, Q2: 14-11, Q3: 9-10, Q4: 10-13
Progressive score:
14-11, 28-22, 37-32, 47-45
Shooting stats:
Jo Harten: 32/39, 82%
Alex Kirk: 7/12, 58%
Katy Rose: 6/13, 46%
Overall: 45/64, 70%
