Tuesday 8 April 2014 06:20, UK
Surrey Storm maintained their unbeaten record in this season's Netball Superleague after recording a 53-51 victory over Hertfordshire Mavericks on Monday night.
The two teams produced a capital classic in front of the Sky Sports cameras, with the table-topping Storm doing the double over their rivals having won the first meeting 52-50 earlier in the campaign.
It is good to be unbeaten but what really matters is that semi-final.
As with the first meeting at the Copper Box there were only two points seperating the sides, with the Mavericks starting both halves impressively to hold the lead.
The hosts were 13-10 in front at the end of the first quarter as the combination of the Corbin sisters, WA Sarah and GS Kadeen helped them explode out of the blocks.
However Surrey showed just why they have yet to be beaten, GS Rachel Dunn putting on a clinical display of shooting as they turned around the deficit to lead by a 28-24 scoreline at the end of the second, an advantage that could have been more had it not been for the Mavs' four intercepts.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first as Hertfordshire pressed early, quickly erasing the deficit to move 34-32 ahead midway through the third quarter.
Yet once again the Storm responded in fine fashion, drawing level at 40-40 with two late points in the closing minute of the quarter before moving clear in the fourth. The difference in the end was they missed just six of their 59 shots, with the Mavs only able to convert 80 percent of their opportunities.
Becky Trippick was named player of the match and admitted afterwards to Sky Sports that it had once again been a real battle against the Mavs, with the duo looking likely to do battle again in the semi-finals.
“It was close from the first whistle – but we knew it was going to be," she said. “There is a high chance they could be our semi-final opponents. Our aim was to come off having learnt something today, so we are pretty pleased with it.
“It was a tough game. We didn’t get any let-up. We are just focused on us and making sure we are doing things right. It is good to be unbeaten but what really matters is that semi-final.”
Mavs head coach Karen Atkinson felt a lack of composure cost her team - they are yet to be certain of a place in the fnial four with one round of matches to go.
“The final scoreline is frustrating but there is a lot to be pleased with,” she said. "We talked about being competitive right from the start and they did that. It is just little bits of composure that we needed that is letting them down at the minute.
“I thought it was hotly contested, some calls go your way and some don’t. We’ve got to take that element out of it and play some more composed netball at times.”
In Monday’s other matches, Manchester Thunder overcame Team Northumbria 66-53, the Celtic Dragons registered a 70-52 victory over the Yorkshire Jets, while Team Bath beat Loughborough Lightning 63-41 in their final home match of the season.
