The Melbourne Vixens have made it four straight wins against cross-town rivals, Magpies Netball, claiming a come-from-behind win 65-57.
Trailing by as much as seven goals in the second quarter, the Vixens rallied after half time, scoring 19 goals to the Magpies 12 in a dominating third term.
Vixens head coach, Simone McKinnis said she was happy with the team’s ability to adjust at half time.
“We were struggling in that first half, and the momentum was with the Magpies,” said McKinnis.
“They were playing some great netball, so I was just really happy to see our diligence to be able to dig deep, adjust, change and push on in the second half, particularly in attack.
“We started taking the drives and letting the ball go. In the first half there wasn’t much movement. We weren’t proactive, we were quite stagnant.”
Despite the strong turn around, McKinnis said she is looking for consistency.
“That’s probably the challenge for all of the teams in the competition, being able to put out that quality across four quarters,” McKinnis said.
“Every point is valuable, and I’d like to be able to put a full game together.”
The win was soured by an injury to goal keeper, Emily Mannix in the third quarter.
A dislocated finger, Mannix left the court visibly in discomfort midway through the quarter and returned to bench late in match with a bandaged hand.
The injury saw Jamaican defender Kadie-Ann Dehaney take the court, and impressed McKinnis.
“Kadie, she just loves playing. When she’s out there she’s got to make the most of every opportunity she gets and I thought that she did a great job,” McKinnis said.
“She got some rebounds and had a crack at the ball so it was good to see her do that.”
Wing attack Liz Watson was named MVP for the match, finishing with 29 goal assists and 37 feeds.
The Vixens now hit the road to take on the NSW Swifts next Saturday in Sydney.
Match report with thanks to the Melbourne Vixens.
