Saturday 31 January 2015 13:23, UK
Yorkshire Jets opened their 2015 Superleague Netball season with a commanding 70-44 win over Loughborough Lightning on Friday night.
After a nervy start, Jets were quickest to get into their stride with the attacking line-up of Timmy Cato and Nikala Smith combining well and Lauren Potter and Tuaine Keenan strong in defence. The pressure saw Jets leading 18-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Despite a strong five minutes for Lightning in the second, where they scored heavily, Jets had the best of the ball, adding 15 goals and heading into half-time with a 33-19 lead.
After the break, Anna Carter’s side continued to dominate across the court, extending their lead in the third quarter to 20 points with the score 51-31.
There was no let-up in the final quarter from the home side who scored 19 points in the final 15 minutes to leave the final score at 70-44.
For the new-look Lightning side, it was a stark reminder of just how tough the Superleague can be, and their new coach Karen Atkinson admitted her side were not good enough on the night.
“I’m really disappointed with the score line. That’s not how the girls have been performing in training and in pre-season," said Atkinson.
“We had a really slow start and that cost us. We put on some really good defensive pressure in the first five minutes but we just didn’t capitalise in attack.
“We had far too many basic errors which let us down. The girls started to lose confidence which can’t happen in a Superleague campaign if we are going to take some wins.”
Jets' Natalie Haythornthwaite was named Player of the Match.
TEAMS
Yorkshire Jets
Starting 7: Lottysha Cato (Goal Shooter), Nikala Smith (Goal Attack), Natalie Haythornthwaite (Wing Attack), Jess Shaw (Centre), Sally Butters (Wing Defence), Tuaine Keenan (Goal Defence), Lauren Potter (Captain - Goal Keeper).
Subs: Megan Clark, Brie Grierson, Bea Skingsley, Lydia Walker, Steph Wilson
Loughborough Lightning
Starting 7: Vanessa Walker (Goal Shooter), Maryka Holthausen (Goal Attack), Hannah Joseph (Wing Attack), Rachel Henry (Captain - Centre), Lauren Steadman (Wing Defence), Rachel Forbes (Goal Defence), Phumza Maweni (Goal Keeper)
Subs: Rebekah Airey, Fran Desmond, Flo Edwards, Lauren Massey, Peace Proscovia
