Glasgow Wildcats: Scotland's Superleague Team
Mavericks 48 vs 36 Mavericks
Herts Sports Village
Friday, 27th February 2009 :: 20:00
VENUE: HERTFORDSHIRE SPORTS VILLAGE
DATE AND TIME: 27TH FEBRUARY, 2009. AT 2000
UMPIRES:
Q1: 7-12
Q2: 22-21
Q3: 35-29
Q4: 48-36
Glasgow Wildcats have been proving something of a revelation on the road in the latter stages of this season and London teams seem to be bring out the best in them. Certainly in the first 15 minutes of Co-operative Netball Superleague Round 16 match against Mavericks there was no pussyfooting around by the visitors. Springing into a 3-1 lead they dominated the quarter, their zone defence working a treat in keeping Mavericks shooters as far from the post as possible, while at the other end captain Lesley MacDonald was having it all her own way in the circle. She was able to take the ball in plenty of space giving her even more time to net the ball in her calm efficient way. On the rare occasion possession was lost the goal-shooter was quickly out of the circle and on the defensive and it was her efforts that ensured Wildcats led by 5 goals after 15 minutes.
Mavericks needed to up the ante to stop the slide and turned to Louisa Brownfield, who has had a busy week. The shooter was part of England’s squad that handed Jamaica at 3 match defeat in the Co-operative International Netball Series. Her arrival on the court at the beginning of the second quarter inspired the Mavericks attack, providing more purpose, more presence and more stature in the goal area and despite looking a little jaded after three other match preparations in the last six days the 22-21 lead at half-time was pretty much down to her efforts in the attacking third.
In the third quarter Mavericks started to dominate playing the kind of netball that has guaranteed them a place in the Superleague Play-off. Defensively the home side came out stronger and shut down Glasgow’s route into the circle and with Louisa Brownfield netting 100% the home side took an unassailable lead.
Glasgow Wildcats moved their skipper into the GA bid in the last quarter in an effort to bring more ball into the circle. Lesley McDonald is a mobile goal-shooter and just as handy in the goal attack bib, she was certainly speeding across the court when she collided with her own wing-defence; an ice-pack sorted her face but poor Stephanie Docherty had to play on with a chunk of zinc plaster on her bleeding lip - she looked like some had stuck a post-it note on her chin. On the plus side the appendage served to highlight how well she was playing. Karen Atkinson came on for a cameo in the last 15 minutes. The England captain played all three hours of the series with Jamaica but looked fresh as she came out on court to lead her Superleague side to another win. She was presented with yet more flowers and must now be in serious need of a spare vase after collecting a carpet of blooms having made her 100th appearance for her country on Thursday 26th February in Nottingham.
Glasgow Wildcats coach Denise Holland wasn’t disappointed with the defeat “I’m really pleased with the performance tonight. We played with game intelligence and really worked hard to capitalize on our strengths”.
Mavericks coach Kendra Slawinki admited it was tight to start with: “It was a nip and tuck game in the the first quarter and Glasgow had the edge in the first quarter and I felt the changes were fitting because by the end of the second quarter we were much more competitive.”
GLASGOW WILDCATS
GS: Lesley MacDonald (capt)
GA: Rachel Holmes
WA: Gail Higgins
C : Carlene Hamilton
WD: Claire Brownie
GD: Claire Cooper
GK: Hayley Mulheron
Changes
3rd Quarter
Gail Higgins to GA
Jenna Storie to WA
Steph Doc to WD
4th Quarter
Jenny Dingwall to GS
Lesley MacDonald GA
Gail Higgins to WA
SHOOTING STATS:
Lesley MacDonald 31/34=91%
Rachel Holmes 2/4 = 50%
Jennifer Dingwall 3/7 = 42%
Gail Higgins 0/3= 0%
STARTING LINE-UPS
MAVERICKS
GS: Michelle Hall
GA: Ella Clark
WA: Gemma Wiseman
C: Camilla Buchanan
WD: Natalie Seaton
GD: Hazel Schofield
GK: Naida Hutchinson
SHOOTING STATS:
Michelle Hall 23/28 = 82%
Ella Clark 1/4 = 25%
Louisa Brownfield 24/27 = 89%
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49-37 | 
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Netball Superleague 08/09
| Team | P | Pts. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Surrey Storm | 16 | 28 |
| 2 | Team Bath | 16 | 27 |
| 3 | Northern Thunder | 16 | 26 |
| 4 | Mavericks | 16 | 22 |
| 5 | Leeds Carnegie | 16 | 15 |
| 6 | Celtic Dragons | 16 | 7 |
| 7 | Glasgow Wildcats | 16 | 7 |
| 8 | Loughborough Lightning | 16 | 6 |
| 9 | Team Northumbria | 16 | 6 |
League table last updated: 30/04/10
