6 from 6 in Div 2

After yet another early rise, the team arrived up at Loughborough for a second top of the table clash. Will we ever have a 10:30 game?!

The weather predicted a thundery game with both Storm and Lightning making strong hits in the first quarter, but the front line of Josie, Jackie, Emma and Chloe held strong to deliver the goals. The quarter ran back and forth relentlessly, finishing with Storm with their noses out in front by 1 goal (14-13). Josie (C) and Jackie (WA) connected well on the centre passes and balanced the circle calmly, whilst providing great defence through court. After receiving top coaching tips from Nic G at quarter time, the defensive line of Sam, Nicole and Jess came out firing into the second quarter. Jess (WD) caused all sorts of problems on the defensive centre pass forcing so many balls backwards and the ever-growing combination of Sam (GK) and Nicole (GD) rotated the circle with effortless switches causing lots of confusion and balls off the back line. In attack, Jackie and Emma (GA) found their feet to provide slick first and second phase of centre pass, with quick ball release and clever court craft. Chloe (GS) held strong in the circle under all sorts of pressure, especially coping well with the questionable marking from behind. Any spectators might have thought it was basketball they were marking so close! But Chloe kept calm and together the team took it up a gear and delivered an astounding 21 goals, making the half time score an impressive 35-19.

Changes at half time saw Emma move to GS, Macy to enter at GA, Sophie in at WD and a switch of Nicole and Sam. Macy and Sophie entered into the match seamlessly, with Macy out-running the opposition by a mile and Sophie causing havoc with her deceptively long arms and backing up into pockets. The back line continued to grind, creating turnovers all over the court, which easily transitioned to goals with Emma and Macy setting up overloads effectively and pin-point shooting. Josie was a workhorse wonder throughout and the feeding from her and Jackie made the attack look like they’d been playing together for years. End of quarter three saw Storm rack up another big 20 goals, 55-33. Into the final quarter and Nic G was pleased to be in a position where everyone could get on court - Charlotte entered at WA and Ellen at C, making her debut for the club! Again, both players settled into the fast pace of the game incredibly well, with Charlotte providing accurate feeds and clear-cut centre pass attack. A big shout out to Ellen; it was hard to believe she hadn’t played for a few years as she turned over ball and ran rings around her opposition. The final combo saw out another dominant quarter to end the game 70-42. Storm outclassed Sleaford today in all areas of the court, and the loud support from whoever was on the bench really helped the team to continue lifting their game each quarter.

A massive thank you as always to Nic for coaching, solo today but calm, collected and spot on with her decision making. MVP went to Emma for her consistent shooting and court craft to create acres of space in the circle throughout the whole game. But the real winner today has to be the spectators - what an incredible display of netball they got to watch!!

On to the next game, with bucket loads of confidence. You won’t want to miss it!