SUNSHINE Coast Lightning have spoiled the party in Nicole Richardson‘s debut as Collingwood Magpies coach, winning 67-56 in a comfortable four-quarter performance. Led by a shooting combination of Steph Wood and Cara Koenen, the Lightning punished the Magpies on turnovers, running away victors thanks to a 34-26 second half.

It was a remarkable first term as both sides had their fair share of impressive and forgettable moments, that saw multiple goal runs in the first 15 minutes. The Magpies had the first centre pass but an immediate turnover and transition play from the Lightning saw Wood nail her first, then set up Koenen to make it 2-0. When Shimona Nelson could not quite grab it close to the post and it went out for a second turnover, the Lightning had a chance to go 3-0 up but missed. It proved a blessing for the Magpies who started strong from a scoring front as Nelson piled on three consecutive goals to help the Magpies to the lead.

Such was the up-and-down term for Nelson, a third turnover for the Jamaican resulted in the Lightning adding three of their own and regaining the lead. Gabrielle Sinclair got on the board five minutes in, and the Magpies once again took control with some slick movement going forward through the midcourt for a 6-5 lead. The Magpies shooters – considered as a potential weakness for the side heading into the season – were on target. It was their turnovers that were hurting them, as Sinclair turned it over and the Lightning made them pay.

The visitors were not without mistakes themselves as Karla Pretorius even recorded a turnover, but the Magpies – who perhaps were distracted by the announcement of the Super Shot period – miscued a pass through midcourt. The first Super Shot came through Sinclair who made no mistake from range to level the scores at 12-apiece, with Nelson putting her team up following a trademark Ash Brazill intercept. Koenen scored the Lightning’s first two-pointer in a bit of a surprise considering Wood’s practice from range during the match, but Wood’s hesitation in the final seconds rather than shoot resulted in no score and the Lightning heading into the break with a one-goal lead.

Nelson had shot a confident 11 of 12 goals in the opening term, but had three turnovers with Sinclair (four of six) aiding her well. Koenen could hardly miss with 13 from 13 while Wood had the three of four. Laura Scherian was busy at wing attack with seven goal assists from nine feeds, as Kelsey Browne had five of seven for the Magpies.

The early going in the second term saw everything go the way of the Lightning, piling on four straight goals, and eight of the first 10 to race out to a 25-18 lead. Brazill was rotated off the court for Mel Bragg in wing defence, before returning straight on for Molly Jovic in centre. As the Magpies cut the deficit to four points, the Lightning called a time out of their own, with Peace Proscovia coming on for Koenen in goal shooter.

Both Wood and Nelson missed chances before the Super Shot came in, and then Sinclair once again was the first one to nail a long-range shot, cutting the deficit to just three with her successful make. Yet another Magpie turnover saw the Lightning punish the Magpies and race out to a 33-27 lead. Kalifa McColin came in for her debut in the Super Netball and did not only make an impact with an early goal, but then nailed a Super Shot confidently, to single-handedly drag the Magpies back to within a manageable three goals at the main break, while Proscovia nailed her first six goal attempts. At the main break it was 33-30 in favour of the visitors.

Once again it was the Lightning who raced out of the blocks scoring 10 of the first 13 points for a seven-goal lead, and as much as an eight-goal advantage at one stage. The Magpies were back with the starting seven, though changes took place in the first half of the term as Jacqui Newton replaced Geva Mentor at goal keeper, and later Brazill came on as centre again with Bragg back to wing defence. The Lightning were still holding sway though as first Wood – five goals of five attempts early – and then Koenen – reaching double-figure goals with still a few minutes left in the term.

For the Lightning, Kate Shimmin came on in goal defence allowing Pretorius to head out to wing defence, and Maddy McAuliffe having a rest. A third Super Shot from Sinclair drew the Magpies within seven, and then a Jovic intercept – as she returned to the court at wing attack – had the crowd at peak volume. The Magpies were unable to capitalise though, as Sinclair’s Super Shot attempt went off the net and out. The Lightning were not missing though, shooting 19 of 21 for the term, and had opened up a pretty handy eight-goal lead at the final break, 54-46.

Mentor returned to the court in goal keeper as Newton went out to goal defence. A rare turnover from Scherian opened the door for the Magpies early in the term, but yet again despite capitalising through Nelson, were unable to double-up and chew into the deficit immediately after another turnover. The Lightning were making multiple turnovers now however, and soon the lead was back within six points. As was the case all night, the Lightning kept pressing and after a couple more Magpies mistakes, the Lightning opened up a huge double-digit lead five minutes into the term, then the visitors called a time out.

The game was winding down with the Lightning well and truly in control and the Magpies needing a miracle. With five and a half minutes on the clock, the Lightning had scored 10-7 and were out to a 64-53 lead. The Lightning called a late time out for Mahalia Cassidy to have a rest and McAuliffe come on in centre, whilst McCollin returned to the court for Nelson to try and roll the dice with the Super Shot, though Sinclair missed the first chance, but scored the second to cut it to single digits with 2:15 on the clock, but it was just a bridge too far, with the Lightning getting up 67-56 in the match.

Koenen finished with 38 goals from 44, while Wood nailed 20 of 24, had 20 goal assists from 29 feeds and a rebound to be a standout player for the winners. Scherian had a game-high 22 goal assists from 30 feeds, while Cassidy made a successful debut for the Lightning, providing 17 goal assists from 28 feeds. In defence, Maweni had four deflections, two rebounds and two intercepts. For the Magpies, Nelson shouldered the bulk of the load for 39 goals from 43 attempts, three rebounds but five turnovers, while Sinclair (10 of 18) was also lively. Browne played just over a half for 17 goal assists from 28 feeds, while Brazil returned from a long-term knee injury to have eight goal assists from 17 feeds, one intercept and one deflection.

The Magpies will head north to take on the GIANTS Netball next week, whilst the Lightning remain in Victoria for Round 2, taking on Melbourne Vixens.

MAGPIES 16 | 14 | 16 | 10 (56)
LIGHTNING 17 | 16 | 21 | 13 (67)

STARTING SEVEN:

MAGPIES:

GS: Shimona Nelson
GA: Gabrielle Sinclair
WA: Kelsey Browne
C: Molly Jovic
WD: Ash Brazill
GD: Jodi-Ann Ward
GK: Geva Mentor

LIGHTNING:

GS: Cara Koenen
GA: Steph Wood
WA: Laura Scherian
C: Mahalia Cassidy
WD: Maddy McAuliffe
GD: Karla Pretorius
GK: Phumza Maweni