Lightning wasted no time stamping their authority on the contest, showing clear intent to go long into the circle and racing out to a 3-0 lead. The midcourt clash between Liz Watson and Amy Sligar loomed large early, setting up a physical and high-quality battle.
The visitors extended their advantage to 9-3, prompting an early timeout from the GIANTS. Coach Nerida Stewart called for more composed, short and sharp ball movement, an adjustment that quickly shifted momentum. Capitalising on a series of Lightning fumbles, the home side began to find flow through the court, with Erin O’Brien doing an excellent job limiting the influence of Donnell Wallam.
The GIANTS surged back into the contest, scoring four of the next five goals to close the gap and force a timeout from Lightning coach Belinda Reynolds, who challenged her side’s finishing with their centre-pass-to-goal rate sitting at 61 per cent.
With momentum building, the GIANTS levelled the scores heading into the Power Five period, and with under three minutes to play the teams were locked at 12-all.
Despite the strong fightback, Sunshine Coast finished the quarter strongly to take a narrow 15-13 lead into the first break.
Things settled into a much tighter and more contested affair in the second quarter, with both sides struggling to fully capitalise on their opportunities.
The GIANTS found consistency through Sophie Dwyer, who was clinical under the post, shooting at 100 per cent and providing a reliable focal point in attack.
An interesting tactical move for the visitors had Cara Koenen remain on the bench for much of the quarter, while the GIANTS continued to put in significant work through their attacking unit, applying the pressure as they trailed by just one-point heading into the Power Five period.
Reynolds called a tactical timeout, urging her side to apply more scoreboard pressure. Koenen returned, while defensive efforts from Leesa Mi Mi, including her third gain of the game, proved crucial as the visitors edged ahead late in the quarter, taking a three-goal lead into half-time.
The GIANTS come out with renewed energy in the third quarter, racing out of the blocks to level the scores before quickly edging in front of the Lightning.
The intensity lifted noticeably, with both sides applying heavy defensive pressure that led to a flurry of turnovers within the opening five minutes alone.
For her 52/54 under the post, Donnell Wallam was named MVP.
The home side held a narrow 37-36 advantage as the game entered the Power Five period. Scoring remained hard to come by from long range, with another Super Shot window looking set to pass without impact, until a late moment of brilliance from Matisse Leatherbarrow - ignited the crowd at Ken Rosewall Arena with scores locked at 42-all.
The Lightning made a decisive start to the final quarter, jumping out 4-1 and maintaining control.
With eight minutes remaining and the buffer extended to 53-48 midway through the term, GIANTS called multiple timeouts. With the Super Shot in play, Nerida Stewart gave her side the licence to shoot, but execution under pressure proved costly as errors crept in.
Leatherbarrow landed a late two points to keep the margin at five (57–51), but the visitors remained composed, closing out the match strongly as the GIANTS again struggled to finish.
Speaking after a hard-fought contest, MVP Donnell Wallam reflected on the physical nature of the win and the importance of grinding out results in tight matches.
"It was a grind out there. The GIANTS really put it to us," Wallam said.
"Lizzy (Watson) just said, 'let's celebrate that win'. We really need to use that as motivation to keep pushing that top four."
"We've got to keep building on performances like today. Learn to grind it out like we just dud then and do that against the top three teams".
