The Melbourne Vixens defeated ladder leaders GIANTS Netball in a close four-quarter thriller in front of a roaring home crowd on Saturday night.
The Vixens pulled away from the Giants in the final quarter to run away with the eight-point victory over the competition leaders.
Right from the first centre pass, both teams threw their bodies on the line in a physical display of athleticism. Minor mistakes proved crucial in such a tight game as a few turnovers early in the first half saw the Giants gain early ground.
Both teams held tight defensive formations throughout the match. Chloe Watson, alongside defenders Emily Mannix and Jo Weston built up a strong defensive wall early on, creating opportunity for the Vixens to attack and push themselves into the lead 15-11 at the end of the quarter.
Throughout the second quarter the Vixens struggled to find space against a defensively tight and cohesive Giants unit, who started to close the game back up.
Phillips and Moloney showed great partnership throughout the half, with Moloney supplying sharp shooters Kumwenda and Phillips with plenty of opportunities to tie the scores back up.
Small errors were the only things separating these times as the Vixens took advantage of any mistakes from their opposing side to stay two points ahead at 27-25 heading into the halftime break.
Jo Weston had a powerful impact early on in the second half. Her defensive pressure allowed the Vixens to start to put some space between themselves and the Giants, leading by four points at three quarter time.
Heading into the final term, both teams were going point for point desperate to hold onto the win. Kumwenda flexed her offensive muscle in the circle, with an impressive vertical leap and stunning lay-up to hold the Vixens four points ahead of the Giants.
As the Vixens continued to push ahead, a rattled Giants team found it difficult to find the net and tie the scores back up. In the final minutes the Vixens pulled just out of the Giant’s reach to take the victory 59 to 51.
Mwai Kumwenda was named MVP for the match. Kumwenda had a near flawless shooting percentage of 92% for the match, making 35/38 shots.
The Vixens will take on the Magpies in an away game at Hisense Arena next Saturday night.
