MELBOURNE, CMC – Defending champions Adelaide Thunderbirds, spearheaded by the Jamaican trio of Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, Romelda Aiken-George, and Latanya Wilson, fortified their hold on third in the Super Netball League table with a 69-49 rout of the winless Giants on Saturday.
The Thunderbirds (3-1) won every quarter at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, and they quickly sealed the win against the Giants, whose line-up included Jamaican defender Jodi-Ann Ward, when they utilized a variety of combinations from their roster to set up the result with a commanding first half.
Long-standing goal shooter Aiken-George came off the bench to score 29 goals from 35 attempts, while the Jamaican defensive duo of Sterling-Humphrey and Wilson made life a nightmare for the Giants’ out-of-sorts front court.
“I’m thrilled with that scoreline, being able to push on over the match,” midfielder Tayla Williams said. Our game plan is based on our unit’s defense, and we know we have Shammy (Sterling-Humphrey) in the back getting those exceptional intercepts.
“We’re working as a unit, and that’s how we build that pressure. We saw that with the held-balls reward [in this match].”
The T-birds started the match strong and quickly, with the attacking end standing up. They finished the first quarter leading 18-12.
Coming under intense pressure from the Thunderbirds in the second quarter, the Giants struggled to get the ball down to their shooting end, and it did not help when the hosts moved Georgie Horjus from wing attack to goal attack.
She proved lethal in combination with Aiken-George, spearheading a 12-0 spree, which stretched the gap to 37-23 at half-time after Giants goal shooter Sophie Dwyer recovered from a shaky start and reeled off a hat-trick of Super Shots.
The T-birds bossed the mid-court in the third stanza and were leading 54-36 at three-quarter-time, and they did not waver in the final period.
Elsewhere, the Melbourne Mavericks produced a heart-stopping fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Sunshine Coast Lightning 65-64 in the final seconds of their match at the University of the Sunshine Coast Arena.
League newcomers Mavericks outscored Lightning 19-15 in the final quarter to seal their first in the tournament.
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