J’can trio power Thunderbirds in lopsided win

MELBOURNE (CMC):

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS Adelaide Thunderbirds, spearheaded by the Jamaican trio of Shamera Sterling-Humphrey, Romelda Aiken-George, and Latanya Wilson, fortified their hold on third in the Super Netball League table with a 69-49 rout of the winless Giants yesterday.

The Thunderbirds (3-1) won every quarter at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, easily sealing the win against the Giants, whose line-up included Jamaican defender Jodi-Ann Ward, when utilising a variety of combinations from their roster to set up the result with a commanding first half.

Long-standing goal shooter Aiken-George came off the bench to score 29 goals from 35 attempts, while the Jamaican defensive duo of Sterling-Humphrey and Wilson made life a nightmare for the Giants’ out-of-sorts front court.

“Very happy with that scoreline, being able to push on over the match,” midfielder Tayla Williams said.

“All our game plan is based off our unit’s defence, and we know we have Shammy (Sterling-Humphrey) in the back getting those speccy intercepts.

“We’re working as a unit and that’s how we build that pressure. We saw that with the held-balls reward [in this match].”

The T-birds had a strong and quick start to the match, with the attacking end standing up to guide them to an 18-12 first-quarter lead.

Coming under intense pressure from the Thunderbirds in the second quarter, the Giants continued to struggle to get the ball down to their shooting end. It did not help when the hosts moved Georgie Horjus from wing attack to goal attack.

She proved lethal in combination with Aiken-George, spearheading a 12-0 spree, which stretched the gap to 37-23 at half-time after Giants goal shooter Sophie Dwyer recovered from a shaky start to reel off a hat-trick of Super Shots.

The T-birds bossed the mid-court in the third stanza and were leading 54-36 at the end of the third quarter. They did not waver in the final period.

Elsewhere, the Melbourne Mavericks produced a heart-stopping, fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Sunshine Coast Lightning 65-64, in the final seconds of their match at the University of the Sunshine Coast Arena.

League newcomers Mavericks outscored Lightning 19-15 in the final quarter to seal their first in the tournament.