After securing a spot in the Netball Super League Grand Final against London Pulse, the Loughborough Lightning have the opportunity to win an unprecedented three-peat.
After being defeated by Pulse, the regular season’s top team, last week, Lightning, the reigning champions, were given a preliminary final ban.
The result was a repeat of the Grand Final from the previous year when the hosts Lightning won 69-57 on Sunday.
After the first quarter, Lightning led 19-12, but Thunder added 10 unanswered goals in the process.
At the other end, Samantha Wallace-Joseph did the damage while Jodie Gibson came on at goal defense after going 27-20 down to help Lightning.
The Trinidad and Tobago-based shooter gave the Lightning a 37-30 half-time lead with five two-point super shots in the second quarter.
At 44-33 down, South Africa’s Elmere van der Berg was first to receive an offender of the season, and Thunder called a tactical timeout.
We demonstrated that the three-peat is necessary.
Never underestimate the power of a lightning strike. We unwaveringly want to perform the three-peat, and I believe that was demonstrated by our performance.
We needed a really strong second quarter, and it came out 25-11 [in that quarter], which is just incredible. We were extremely energetic, and we knew it was necessary to maintain that consistency.
“The intensity of surviving this game [will give us a huge boost] for the Grand Final.”
Karen Greig, the Thunder’s head coach, said, “I don’t believe we were good enough for a long time. A team can now go back in after a really strong first quarter, which gives them the confidence to continue and prosper.
Lighting and the eighth Grand Final
What is the relationship between Lightning and Pulse?
The majority of the regular season saw the tussles between Lightning and Pulse, and they were fascinating.
Pulse won round two by beating the reigning champions 77-51 in Loughborough, but that victory was redeemed at the Copper Box by Lightning, who won by 58-53 in the match.
In last week’s play-off semi-final nailbiter, table-thumping Pulse won 50-49, and now they’re doing it again.
The Grand Final lineup is unchanged from the year before, when Lightning came out of the woods to win. Loughborough’s big-stage experience is heavily influenced by this.
related subjects
- Netball
Source: BBC
Leave a Reply