A thrilling start to the game but Storm could not out last the Saracens side
Storm entered Sunday VNSL action hungry as ever to close their last two games out with a win. Both teams had nothing to gain with regards to play off positions as these were confirmed last weekend with Mavericks narrowly missing out. However, Storm and Mavericks were looking to finish on a high as Mavericks Jo Tripp played out her retirement game.
Storm started the game strong with composure on attack finding Karyn Bailey early on offence. A great match up as Karyn plays her second to last game against fellow retiring Jo Trip. Felicitas Kwangwa brought the energy towards the end of the quarter with leaping interceptions and disrupting the flow of the Mavericks. Storm finish the quarter leading by 6.
Storm continued where they left off, applying the pressure and executing at the other end through the hands of Emma Magee and Karyn Bailey. Mavericks made some adjustments and resulted in a push halfway through the quarter, but Storm kept to their game plan going into the half up 22 – 19.
Mavericks displayed their quality and talent coming out the 2nd half in a higher gear levelling the score in the first minutes. Not letting up the defence intensity the Mavericks made it more difficult than the first half for the ball to flow through the court. However, a fearless young Sophie Kelly who started the 3rd quarter worked off Mikki Austin and Yasmin Cooper to keep us in touching distance.
Mavericks took full control in the 4th showing their dominance and desire to close their season off with a win. Unfortunate turnovers saw the Mavericks boast a 10-goal lead which would extend further to finish the game 48 – 35.