Team Bath’s netballers made it two wins from their opening two Co-operative Superleague fixtures as they beat Northern Thunder 78-34 at the University of Bath Sports Training Village.
Head coach Jess Garland was impressed with the manner in which her team won the game and expressed her delight at the way in they built upon yesterday’s (24th October) 56-28 win over Celtic Dragons.
“We were strong on the ball and we used that to our advantage,” said Garland.
“We were better at making decisions and we moved the ball around the court at a great speed, as well as showing some great defensive switching.”
Team Bath began to show their dominance mid-way through the first quarter after the opening stages saw end-to-end goal scoring from the two sides.
Team Bath went into the second quarter with a 15-point lead and continued to show their quality, despite Thunder scoring four goals without reply with five minutes remaining.
The home side had established a 25-point lead by the interval and continued to dominate in the third quarter, looking shaper as the game progressed, despite the management giving all of the Team Bath bench some court time during the match.
The final quarter saw Team Bath score 16 times, with eight goals going in without reply. Thunder scored six times during this period and although Team Bath thoroughly deserved their win, the away side continued to fight until the final whistle.
Pamela Cookey’s ability to score every shot – with an outstanding 39 goals from 39 attempts - was key to the victory.
Eboni Beckford-Chambers’ performance at the other end of the court was also impressive. The TeamBath goalkeeper produced a strong defensive display, denying Northern Thunder’s ex-England shooter Karen Greig on several occasions.
Team Bath starting seven: GS Pamela Cookey (capt), GA Tamsin Greenway, WA Sasha Corbin; C Sara Bayman, WD Serena Guthrie, GD Stacey Francis; GK Eboni Beckford-Chambers.
Q2 changes: Gemma Fletcher to GD. Q3 changes: Rachel Dunn to GS, Pamela Cookey to GA, Jo Binns to C, Clare Elsley to WD, Stacey Francis to GD. Q4 changes: Kirsty Delves to GA; Tamsin Greenway to WA, Gemma Fletcher to GD.
Shooting stats: Cookey 39/39; Greenway 12/13; Dunn 20/24; Delves 7/9
