MELBOURNE, CMC – Melbourne Vixens booked their place in the Grand Final of the Super Netball League in Australia after an uncharacteristic shaky performance from ace Jamaica goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard enabled them to come from behind twice and survive a late scare to beat West Coast Fever 73-72 in the preliminary final on Saturday.
The 35-year-old Jamaican, the most prolific scorer in the tournament, finished with 56 goals—including four of seven Super Shots—from 61 attempts. She came under intense pressure with the introduction of Australia international goalkeeper Emily Mannix in the second half of the contest at the John Cain Arena after the Fever led 19-18 after the first quarter and 38-37 at halftime.
Fowler-Nembhard lost possession when Mannix created a deflection within seconds of being on the court. She also let a pass burst through her fingers, fumbled another, and missed two Super Shots from which her side could not recover.
The Vixens led 57-52 at three-quarter time, and though they were outscored 20-16 in the final term, the Fever narrowly failed to overcome the deficit and missed out on the Grand Final for the second straight year after playing strongly during the regular season.
Defending champions Adelaide Thunderbirds, whose line-up includes the Jamaican trio of top-rated defensive pair Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Latanya Wilson and veteran goal shooter Romelda Aiken-George, will host the Vixens in the Grand Final next Saturday at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
Fever came out firing in the first quarter, with Fowler-Nembhard and fellow Jamaica goal attack Shanice Beckford scoring the first three consecutive goals of the match.
Jamaica international defender Kadie-Ann Dehaney knew precisely what her role was as the goalkeeper. With goal defense, Fran Williams put early pressure on the Vixens scoring pair of Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin.
A battle started to form between Fowler-Nembhard and Vixens goalkeeper Rudi Ellis, and the pair were physically aggressive with their opponents and challenged one another.
The Vixens shooting end found their feet late in the quarter, and Austin reeled off three Super Shots to close the deficit, while Garbin scored a Super Shot in the final seconds to cut the deficit to one goal.
The second quarter was the goal for goal between both sides, with the lead swapping on multiple occasions.
Alice Teague-Neeld made the difference for the Fever with her ability to move the ball down the court into the hands of the shooters. She came away with seven-goal assists and eight feeds for the period.
Beckford scored her second Super Shot in the final moments of the quarter, putting Fever in front by one at halftime.
Fowler-Nembhard tried her best to hold it together against Ellis, Mannix, and Weston’s defense, but Beckford continued to be an option, with one rebound, eight-goal assists, and 11 feeds for the quarter.
But the Fever could not break down the connection between Garbin and Austin, which changed the course of the match at the 11-minute mark. Seven goals from the pair late in the period put the Vixens ahead after the third term.
Both teams displayed grit in the final period, but the Vixens widened their lead to 12 on the strength of their attacking line, which quickly moved the ball from the center pass to the goal.
An incredible five-minute spell in which Fowler-Nembhard and Teague-Neeld scored three Super Shots each enabled Fever to fight back and cut the deficit to one with less than a minute remaining, but Garbin broke her opponents’ hearts when she scored with less than 30 seconds on the clock.
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