Surrey Storm Netball booked themselves a home semi-final on Monday afternoon with a 41-59 win over Hertfordshire Mavericks- their second victory over the Easter weekend.
The visitors powered ahead early in the opening quarter to effectively finish off the match and bag their second win of the season against their Netball London Live rivals.
Coach Greenway kept the same starting 7 as the one which saw off Loughborough Lightning two days previous, and this decision paid off as Pamela Cookey quickly converted a turnover to give Storm a 4-6 lead. A footwork call against Mavericks followed by a craft interception by captain Hannah Reid allowed them to add 4 more goals with just a single reply and it was Storm who finished the quarter 9-15 up.
Surrey confidently opened Q2 with a string of goals and the lead was suddenly up to 10 at 11-21. Mavericks bagged a turnover of their own but Storm replied with a triple before the hosts called an injury time out at 14-26. Despite this, the momentum continued in Storm’s favour and they closed out the half 16-29 leaders.
Storm began Q3 with another turnover, as some superb team play saw them drive the ball down court for Rachel Dunn to score with all 7 players getting a handle on the ball. Cookey followed up with a flying save to prevent the ball from going off court and the visitors’ score was soon double that of the hosts, as Storm lead 24-47 with a single quarter remaining.
Storm rang in the changes for Q4, with Dunn and Cookey swapping roles and Flanagan and Huckle stepping on at WD and GK respectively. Mavericks picked up an early turnover to give themselves some hope of a huge comeback but the quarter remained largely goal-for-goal, including a few exciting long bombs for both sides, and it was Storm who took the 41-59 win thanks to a solid, consistent performance against their London rivals.
The win means Storm are guaranteed to finish 2nd in the Superleague regular season, booking them a home semi-final against either Mavericks or Yorkshire Jets at Surrey Sports Park on Saturday 18th April.
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Surrey Storm starting 7:
GS- Dunn
GA- Cookey
WA- Greenway
C- Msomi
WD- Ainsworth
GD- Holland
GK-Reid
Subs: Lees, Gentle, Huckle, Harris, Flanagan
Changes: Cookey to GS, Dunn to GA, Flanagan to WD, Reid to GD, Huckle to GK (all Q4)
Hertfordshire Mavericks starting 7:
GS- East
GA- Watson
WA- Corbin
C Buchanan
WD May
GD Keable
GK Hutchinson
Subs: TBC
Changes: TBC
Shooting stats
Mavericks: East 25/30, 83%; Watson 8/10, 80%; Hankin 8/10, 80%. Team 41/50, 82%.
Storm: Dunn 30/43, 70%. Cookey 29/33, 88%. Team 78%.