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Nelson shines Down Under

Published:Wednesday | May 22, 2019 | 12:28 AM
Nelson
Nelson

MELBOURNE, Australia (CMC):

Rising Sunshine Girls star Shimona Nelson continued to make a name for herself in the Suncorp Super Netball Championship, executing brilliantly down the stretch to carry Collingwood Magpies to a 65-47 win over Adelaide Thunderbirds last weekend.

Playing at Melbourne Arena, the 20-year-old Nelson scored 52 goals from 57 attempts to lead Magpies, who won their second game of the season to move to 20 points in fourth and take closer aim at third place in the standings.

Magpies posted an early 17-11 first-quarter lead with goal shooter Nelson shooting 11 from 12, and sustained their pressure in the second quarter to lead 32-23 at the half.

Nelson, who scored 14 from 15 attempts in the second quarter, kept up her accuracy in the third quarter with 13 goals from 15 attempts as Magpies outscored Thunderbirds 15-12, to lead 47-35 at the start of the final quarter.

Magpies enjoyed a final-quarter stroll, outshooting Thunderbirds 18-12 with Nelson scoring 14 from 15.

Nelson is currently second in the league in scoring with 183 goals, behind Sunshine Girls veteran Jhaniele Fowler-Reid, who has 201 goals.

For the losers, goal attack Maria Folau scored 30 from 39 attempts while goal attack Sasha Glasgow netted 16 from 21 attempts.

Fowler-Reid, meanwhile, was at the forefront for West Coast Fever as they tied 63-all with leaders Melbourne Vixens at RAC Arena in Perth, to remain winless in the league in four outings.

She scored 51 from 54 attempts and gained support from goal attack Kaylia Stanton with 12 from 16, as Fever and Vixens failed to be separated after they were tied at 32 at half-time.

Fever led 18-17 at the end of the first quarter before Vixens hit back in the second quarter to outscore them 15-14.

For the unbeaten Vixens, Caitlin Thwaites led with 36 goals from 43 attempts while goal attack Tegan Phillip chipped in with 27 from 30 attempts.

Fever, last season’s losing finalists, are bottom of the standings with six points.

At the Queensland State Netball Centre in Brisbane, Jamaican Romelda Aiken played a supporting role with 20 goals from 28 attempts as hosts Queensland Firebirds went down 61-69 to Giants Netball.