IT was always expected to be a huge battle between the West Coast Fever and NSW Swifts and the elimination final did not disappoint with both teams having their time to shine.The Fever maintained pressure at both ends for an excellent second half, defeating the reigning premiers 67-62 to head through to the preliminary final against Sunshine Coast Lightning next Sunday. 

The Swifts were first to score, winning off the opening centre pass and slowing down the Fever’s ball movement from the get-go. Hands over pressure was the name of the game early for the Seifts, seeing a few minutes pass before the Fever put a goal on the board. The Swifts’ patience was on show, and the Fever were relentless in attack but could not seem to connect, with Sarah Klau and Maddy Turner tagging centurion Jhaniele Fowler and forcing Alice Teague-Neeld to step up and control proceedings. While everything seemed to be going swimmingly for the Swifts, the Fever were quick to even up the ledger with Verity Charles and Emma Cosh utilising Teague-Neeld’s control on the play. 

Sam Wallace was the first to put a super shot on the board with both teams defensively stepping up as the final five minutes of the quarter began. The ball continued to dart between the thirds with both teams forced to chip the ball around with constant pressure on both the ball and handler. Sophie Craig was a menace early, doing everything she could to negate Cosh, while Paige Hadley and Maddy Proud were relentless out the front, seeing the Swifts ahead at quarter time with a two goal buffer.

The two goal keepers were switched on from the get-go, with both Klau and Courtney Bruce forcing wayward passes and a few minutes between goals in the early stages of the quarter. What looked like a poked eye to Bruce saw the Fever call a tactical timeout, giving the two sides a chance to regroup with very little chances to score before the break. The timeout kickstarted the shooting once more with both teams having an easier time going to post despite the constant pressure from Bruce and Klau, with both teams forced to take some longer shots to make up for limited opportunities from close range. The battle between Wallace and Bruce continued to see a huge amount of intensity, with neither player letting up and weathering the argy-bargy nature of the match. Helen Housby struggled to find her way onto the scoreboard, although her ability to draw Stacey Francis away from the double defence paid dividends. Neither team was willing to give an inch anywhere across the court, with Housby stepping up to hit a few super shots and pull out to a five goal lead, with the scoreline blowing out to seven at half time as the Swifts well and truly took control. 

A new look midcourt and backend started the second half for the Fever, with Jess Anstiss out in centre, Francis into wing defence and youngster Sunday Aryang in the circle. Where the Swifts have well and truly utilised the rolling subs this season, bar a brief patch where Sophie Garbin joined the fray the Swifts did not change their lineup. Turner continued her excellent past few rounds while Klau certainly stepped up once more, though minor errors in the Swifts attack saw a much slower transition off the centre pass. The Swifts continued to be much more efficient off their centre pass, and while the pressure was constantly mounting from the Fever, the green side were much more hasty with ball in hand, wasting their limited opportunities up forward. 

There was very little hands over pressure from the Fever to block the Swifts’ transition down court, which saw Proud, Hadley and Housby continue to find easy avenues to goal and Francis in wing defence not quite having the desired impact. At the other end, Teague-Neeld was forced to take a bit more of the shooting load and did her job effectively but saw the side lack her usual playmaking, with Charles having a tough time against Craig.

A denied shot from Housby and a super shot from Teague-Neeld brought the margin back to just four goals though, with a crucial last three minutes on the clock ready to set the scene for the final quarter. A chase and gather from Anstiss off a Swifts centre saw just a one goal margin as Tayla Fraser was injected into the centre, although it was Aryang who had the impact with an exceptional intercept and players flying for the ball seeing constant clashes and players hitting the deck. The scoreline was all tied up at 48 apiece at three quarter time, showcasing just how tight the battle was. 

A huge final quarter saw Fraser doing everything in her power to win the ball back, while Klau was turning it on but just a fraction of a second behind seeing a couple of wayward penalties going the way of the Fever. Continuously goal for goal, the two teams would not give up seeing the Fever just maintain the lead but neither side able to break the centre. Too little attention was paid to Teague-Neeld out the front, allowing the goal attack to dictate the play. But whenever the likes of Klau and Turner managed to gain a ball back, the Fever were biting back with Aryang continuing to ply her trade and flying down court with her excellent read of the play.

A three goal lead the way of the Fever saw the Swifts call a tactical timeout with just over seven minutes on the clock, throwing around the bibs as Hadley and Garbin returned to the court, with Garbin out in goal attack and Hadley replacing Fraser. Bruce’s ability to attack the feeder was calling the shots, with the Fever drawing out to a seven goal lead with just over three on the clock but Wallace biting back with a super shot to draw back to five and suddenly a four goal margin was in play once more. But a super shot from Teague-Neeld effectively put the nail in the coffin, with the Swifts continuing to put super shots up but to no avail as the Fever ate up precious time. A huge second half from the Fever saw a five goal victory over the reigning premiers, 67-62.

Player of the match Aryang absolutely dominated, racking up five intercepts in her 30 minutes on court and three pickups in a huge outing. While Bruce did not have her usual stats she held up the defensive end to allow Aryang to hunt, finishing with five gains from two intercepts and nine deflections. Fowler was stellar at the post as usual with 55 goals from 56 attempts, while Teague-Neeld put up 10 from 17 (two super shots) and racked up 28 goal assists to lead the court. For the Swifts, Wallace held up well under pressure with 40 goals at 91 per cent, including six of nine super shots, while Housby shot 12 from 17 and collected an intercept. Proud was unstoppable darting around the court with 20 assists, while Klau (seven gains) and Turner continued to niggle down back. While Craig did not pile on the stats, she forced Cosh off the court with her ability to shut down drives and limited Charles from having a huge impact. 

>>> FEVER TEAM PAGE
>>> SWIFTS TEAM PAGE
>>> FULL MATCH STATS

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WEST COAST FEVER 15 | 14 | 19 | 19 (67)
NSW SWIFTS 17 | 19 | 12 | 14 (62)

STARTING SEVEN

Fever

GS: Jhaniele Fowler
GA: Alice Teague-Neeld
WA: Emma Cosh
C: Verity Charles
WD: Jess Anstiss
GD: Stacey Francis
GK: Courtney Bruce

Swifts

GS: Sam Wallace
GA: Helen Housby
WA: Maddy Proud
C: Helen Housby
WD: Sophie Craig
GD: Maddy Turner
GK: Sarah Klau