Loughborough made a strong start to the first quarter and moved the ball at pace through the court. Hannah Joseph and Ella Clark continuously linked up to feed Mary Cholhok under the post with the high ball.
Over in the Lightning defensive circle, in-form Alice Harvey provided the pressure that created the first turnover of the game and allowed Lightning to extend their lead further. However, Sirens as expected, fought back with a great turnover in their defensive third Cerys Finn at goal keeper.
Bella Baylis made an early impact on her first start of the season with a mid-court fly interception of a Siren’s cross-court ball, plucking the ball out of the air and sent forward for Cholhok to covert. Beth Cobden, Nicola Smtih and Alice Harvey continued to dominate the defensive circle and thwart Siren’s attempts to create shooting opportunities.
The second quarter saw a busy start with both teams forcing interceptions and turning over the ball. Lightning were forced to change their defensive pairing as Annabel Roddy entered the court in place of Nicola Smith at goal defence. Roddy hustled tirelessly, causing frustration in Siren’s attack.
Joseph, Baylis and Clark continue to feed Mary at speed with a high ball, challenging Siren’s defence. Head Coach Vic Burgess chose to freshen up the attack, introducing Niamh McCall to the court, facing her old team, slotting in at goal attack in place of Ella Clark.
Half time: Strathclyde Sirens 20 – 42 Loughborough Lightning
Sirens came out strong in quarter three, pushing for a comeback. Vic Burgess opted to rotate the squad further with Ella Clark returning to court at goal shooter in place of Mary Cholhok – who performed strongly with 93% shooting accuracy. Nat Panagarry also entered the court in place of Beth Cobden at wing defence.
Hannah Joseph led through her actions and was industrious throughout the court, turning over the ball and linking Baylis and Clark into attacks for conversion.
Alice Harvey and Annabel Roddy continued to disrupt Sirens’ attack, capitalising on missed opportunities, and sending the ball forward at pace to shooters Clark and McCall. Sirens, however, battled hard in defence, with multiple interceptions, putting the Lightning attack to work.
A further Lightning change saw Rhea Dixon introduced at wing attack for Hannah Joseph. As Lightning grew in confidence, they brought flare to their attack, with Niamh McCall offering up no-look passes and Rhea Dixon with quick hands to find Clark.
Vic Burgess continued to manage her Lightning squad, as Jade Popoola entered the court at wing defence in place of Nat Panagarry. Growing in confidence each week, shooter Ella Clark continued sinking long shots from all areas of the lightning-attacking circle.
Right at the death, Lightning left a final sucker-punch on Sirens as an Annabel Roddy fly intercept ended up in the hands of Clark who scored right on the final buzzer.
Full time score: Strathclyde Sirens 36 – 72 Loughborough Lightning
Back-to-back POTM, Alice Harvey said it was a brilliant team performance where everyone contributed:
“It was nice to see a whole squad… Everyone brings something different and they all brought the energy and passion tonight and that’s what kept us in the game”
We know it’s tight at the top and goal difference is something on our mind, we definitely don’t take any game for granted, we stick to our principles and I think we did that today.”
Head Coach Vic Burgess also praised the effort from the whole squad:
“We don’t take for granted every time we get the opportunity to put people on court… I was pleased with the different combinations tonight”
Everybody is pushing for the top spot and goal difference is a huge part of that. We didn’t want to take our foot off the gas. The changes don’t make that any different and the girls did a great job at converting the ball and doubling up on centre passes, we have worked on that a lot this week…”
Starting line-up:
GS: Mary Cholhok
GA: Ella Clark
WA: Hannah Joseph
C: Bella Baylis
WD: Beth Cobden
GD: Nicola Smith
GK: Alice Harvey