AAP2 Minute Read
The Adelaide Thunderbirds have snapped the NSW Swifts’ nine-game winning streak and given their own Super Netball prospects a shot in the arm ahead of the finals with a gripping 60-57 victory.
The Thunderbirds were immense down the stretch, snapping their two-match losing skid and securing their first win against the Swifts at Ken Rosewall Arena since 2013.
The two sides will meet again in next Saturday’s major semifinal at the same venue, with the winner advancing to the grand final at John Cain Arena on July 8.
Adelaide’s finals double chance was sealed later in the evening when bottom-placed Collingwood, playing their last-ever game, shocked reigning premiers West Coast 65-62 in Launceston.
The Fever will take on fourth-ranked Melbourne Vixens in the minor semifinal next Sunday.
Latanya Wilson (14 deflections, 10 gains, three intercepts) was inspirational for the Thunderbirds, switching between goal defence, goal keeper and wing defence, while fellow Jamaican backcourter Shamera Sterling conjured two huge intercepts and a big rebound in the dying moments.
“Words cannot explain how I’m feeling,” Wilson grinned.
“I’m super happy with that performance.
“I believe in my team.
“It was about going back to the drawing board, correcting those errors that we’d been making in previous games and we did bloody awesome today.”
Wilson was on song from the outset, but so was Diamonds defender Sarah Klau at the other end as the Swifts, with Helen Housby goaling on the quarter-time siren, edging ahead by two at the first break.
Thunderbirds coach Tania Obst threw the magnets around in the second term and the wholesale changes seemed to put the home side off.
Wilson racked up eight first-half gains, silencing NSW skipper Paige Hadley when moved up to wing defence and helping Adelaide pinch a 32-29 halftime lead.
Hadley’s co-captain Maddy Proud stepped up in the third and a flurry of goals down the stretch on the back of a couple of Thunderbirds turnovers saw the scores tied at three-quarter-time.
The final term was goal for goal before Sterling, who shrugged off a first-half ankle scare, came up with some huge defensive plays to mastermind a late 8-2 rally to ensure NSW’s first defeat since early April.