Fever End Season on High Note
The West Coast Fever has ended the Queensland Firebirds’ finals aspirations once again, with a 67-59 upset win.
It is the first time the Fever have defeated the Firebirds in ANZ Championship history, relegating the Firebirds to finish fifth, just placed outside the finals for the third year in a row.
The Fever came out the better side in the first term, with Captain and WAIS scholarship holder Johannah Curran a surprise starter in centre ahead of both Diamond squad members Madison Browne and Shae Bolton of WAIS.
The move paid off for Coach Jane Searle, as Fever jumped out to a 6-1 lead early in the term, on the back of some great communication between Curran and shooters Caitlin Bassett (WAIS) and Leah Shoard.
The Firebirds fought back in the latter stages of the first, as Diamond Natalie Medhurst and Jamaican Sunshine Girl Romelda Aiken began to find their range, but it was the Fever who headed into the first break ahead by four.
The second term was well won by the Firebirds, as they began to get on top of a tiring Fever side. Amy Steel and Laura Geitz were able hold both Bassett and Shoard to just 17 attempts for the quarter, as the Firebirds regained the lead at halftime.
The third quarter has traditionally been the Fever’s strongest in 2010, and this game was no exception. Searle made a number of changes, with Madison Browne shifted from wing attack to centre, as young WAIS midcourter Sarah Ebbott came from the bench, and Joh Curran rested after her outstanding performance in centre.
And it was these changes that turned the game in Fever favour. Browne was inspirational in the third term, with seven goal assists -two more than the entire Firebirds side for the quarter.
The sell-out Challenge Stadium crowd began to find their voice as Fever reclaimed the lead, just before the three quarter time break.-It was all or nothing for Fever in their final quarter of the season, and they came out firing, opening up an eight goal lead midway through the quarter. A lead, the Firebirds couldn’t rein in.
Medhurst managed just three attempts in the final term, as goal defence Emma Beckett played an extremely tight defensive game on the star goal attack.
Caitlin Bassett shone in the final term, finishing the match with 44 goals, and was well assisted by Leah Shoard who shot her best figures for the year with 23 goals at 85%.
For Searle, the win was bittersweet as Fever has been capable of this kind of result, but fallen away in patches.
“That win was outstanding today, and it just shows that this side is capable of brilliance. We are the future of netball in this team, and while we haven’t had the wins on the board this year, I think we are a better side than the team we put out last year, and are getting hungrier and more determined,” Searle said.
“I knew they had a performance like this in them, it was just about making them believe they could.”
“I look at the Swifts who finished near the bottom last year and turned it around, and it just shows there isn’t much separating the top and bottom teams.”
While the 2010 season didn’t deliver all the results for Fever, they took major steps towards the future, defeating both the Melbourne Vixens and Firebirds for the first time in their history, setting up a positive run towards 2011.
– Netball WA