Fever Clinch Famous Win in Brown’s Milestone
West Coast Fever have celebrated midcourter Shae Brown’s 100th ANZ Championship game in style with a thrilling one goal victory over the NSW Swifts at Newcastle Arena.
The win came off the back of an outstanding second half from Fever, recovering from a nervous start to outscore their opponents 31-26 in the business end of the contest.
Fever shot wide of the mark with their first two attempts at goal for the game before settling into the frenetic pace of the opening quarter.
Replacing the injured Courtney Bruce at Goal Keeper, Josie Janz-Dawson played a crucial role in slowing the home side’s early charge, ifying the dangerous Caitlin Thwaites.
Some typically classy work from Fever’s midcourt then allowed shooters Nat Medhurst and Caitlin Bassett to find space in the circle and eliminate the Swifts scoreboard advantage, locking the two sides at 13 goals apiece to quarter time.
The visitors paid close attention to Head Coach Stacey Rosman’s messages during the break and raced out of the blocks in the second stanza, with concerted defensive pressure forcing a series of turnovers from the Swifts.
Fever capitalised on the mistakes with a run of four consecutive goals, silencing a rampant Newcastle crowd and creating a healthy margin of their own.
The Swifts refused to lie down though, hitting their stride midway through the quarter to take the lead and establish a four goal buffer at the main break.
The West Coast side took full advantage of the intermission, arresting the Swifts momentum with seven consecutive goals to start the second half.
Unlike the second term, Fever kept cool heads in the face of a Swifts fight back to take a three goal lead into the final break following a 17-10 goal third quarter.
Both sides maintained the intensity to start the fourth quarter, with neither showing signs of being the first to crack.
The end to end netball was interrupted by a trademark Ash Brazill intercept just five minutes from full time, opening the door for Fever to skip out to an insurmountable lead.
Despite the Swifts best efforts to claw back, the visitors locked in in defence and wound the clock down, with Janz-Dawson quelling a last second hail mary pass to secure a one goal win.
Game MVP Nat Medhurst said the result would prove crucial in the context of Fever’s run to the finals.
“We came into this game knowing our season was on the line and to perform like that is incredibly satisfying for our group,” Medhurst said.
“To be able to celebrate Shae’s 100th game in that fashion makes it even sweeter.”
“There is a huge amount of belief in this team and to secure a win like this over the premiership favourites will only solidify that confidence.”
The now 100 gamer was overjoyed with the result.
“There is no better way to celebrate my milestone than to share a win like that with my teammates,” Brown said.
“Today was the start of our finals campaign and I’m so proud of the way we stepped up and delivered.”
Fever now return to Perth ahead of next weekend’s Australian Conference blockbuster against the Melbourne Vixens at Hisense Arena.
-WestCoastFever