THE Sunshine Coast Lightning have pulled off the upset of the season, defeating the Melbourne Vixens 71-58, handing the Vixens their first loss of the season.

The first half was much more even than their respective ladder positions would have suggested. An attacking error saw the Vixens steal a goal from a Lightning centre pass off the very first centre pass of the match. The Vixens then shot the next goal to confirm their lead.

Some good defensive work from the Lightning saw them pinch a goal back and things were level again. That did not last long though as the Vixens retook the lead and built a small buffer for themselves.

Things fell apart slightly for the Lightning in the power five period. A combination of errors and not making the most of their opportunities saw the Vixens make the most of it and extend their lead even further, out to as much as five goals.

With about 30 seconds left in the term though, Steph Wood finally nailed a super shot and the Lightning were back in it, but the Vixens maintained their lead and at quarter time the margin was a mere two goals.

The Lightning’s defensive pressure rose in the opening minutes of the second term and they benefitted from it on the scoreboard. Before anyone knew it the Vixens lead was gone. The Vixens did eventually regain their lead, but it was not more then two goals.  

They were able to extend it on the eve of the power five period but then Wood nailed another super shot and it was back to one again. The Lightning nailed another one and then suddenly they were leading, before Rahni Samason nailed one of her own to take the lead back for her side.

The Lightning then took the lead back and held it to the main break. At half time the margin was two goals in favour of the Vixens. The Vixens made a number of changes through the mid court and the defence end towards the back end of the second term and at half time, in the hope that things might turn around for her side.

It did not seem to work early on, as it was goal for goal for much of the opening five minutes of the term. Then, the Lightning were the beneficiaries of a defensive rebound and suddenly the margin was out to four goals. It was five at the start of the power five, and the Lightning then shot a super shot to stretch it out to seven. It was all the Lightning for the rest of the term. They were on top and confidence was clear, and at the final change the lead had ballooned out to 12 goals.

Although Kiera Austin was on fire from Super Shot range, she was carrying too much of the load for the Vixens as Wood and Cara Koenen were both on fire up the other end. The Vixens made some more changes at the final break in the hope that something would turn around for them, meanwhile the Lightning still had their starting seven from the first quarter on the court.  

It did not work as they just could not bridge the gap over the first five minutes of the term that the Lightning had established. They brought it back slightly to 10 goals, but that is as close as it got as the defensive pressure of the Lightning meant that the Vixens were making several unforced errors and turnovers. The Lightning were ultimately just too strong and in the end won by 13.

Koenen powered to 45 goals from 49 attempts, sharing the load with Wood (21 from 24 and 20 goal assists), whilst Maddie Hinchliffe (16 goal assists, three deflections) was strong in midcourt against more experienced opponents. Laura Scherian provided great drive through wing attack with a match-high 22 goal assists, whilst Kate Walsh had four intercepts and two deflections working well with Tara Hinchliffe.

Mwai Kumwenda (31 goals from 33 attempts) and Austin (17 from 22 and 18 goal assists) worked hard, whilst Liz Watson only had the 12 goal assists from 28feeds, but worked hard defensively. Jo Weston (two intercepts, two deflections and one rebound) was also lively in the defensive circle.

Next week sees the Vixens at home to the Thunderbirds, while the Lightning are down in Sydney to tackle the Swifts.

SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING 16 | 17 | 24 | 14 (71)     
MELBOURNE VIXENS  18 | 13 | 14 | 13 (58)

STARTING SEVENS:

Sunshine Coast Lightning:

GS: Cara Koenen
GA: Steph Wood
WA: Laura Scherian
C: Maddy Hinchliffe
WD: Mahalia Cassidy
GD: Kate Walsh
GK: Tara Hinchliffe

Melbourne Vixens

GS: Mwai Kumwenda
GA: Kiera Austin
WA: Liz Watson
C: Kate Moloney
WD: Kate Eddy
GD: Jo Weston
GK: Emily Mannix