By Pip Turton
A roaring, sellout crowd of 13,847 packed into RAC Arena for a blockbuster Saturday night clash.
The Mavericks prevailed 60–57 in a brave contest that went down to the final minutes and may go down as a defining moment in the club’s short history, claiming their first-ever victory at RAC Arena.
Record-breaking crowd at RAC Arena.
The Mavericks wasted no time setting the tone, taking the first centre pass and immediately looking to the towering presence of Shimona Nelson in attack.
While for Fever, Glasgow opened the scoring only for Nelson to respond instantly at the other end.
From there, the opening quarter became a showcase of attacking confidence. Jamie-Lee Price was stamping her authority through the midcourt, threading sharp passes into Nelson, while Maddie Hay’s relentless feeding ensured the ball kept coming.
But Fever weren’t backing down.
A tactical timeout midway through the quarter saw Fever coach Dan Ryan deliver a clear message to his side.
“Don’t over-respect them. Have no hesitation,” he said, encouraging his players to attack the contest with confidence.
Romelda Aiken-George quickly found rhythm under the post, punishing every inch of space she was given, while Fran Williams and Kadie-Ann Dehaney began to settle into a fierce defensive force.
A clean Alice Teague-Neeld intercept helped Fever gain some momentum, but a clutch rebound from Kim Brown and a Suncorp Super Shot off the hands of Reilley Batcheldor had the Mavs up by six at quarter-time.
Shimona Nelson shows plenty of enthusiasm.
Fever came out of the break with intent, Ruth Aryang sparking early defensive pressure and forcing a rare stoppage in the Mavericks’ flow.
But the response from the Mavs was immediate with Nelson's performance near-perfect, continuing a flawless shooting streak that stretched deep into the first half, while the Fever defence struggled to find any consistent answer.
Price continued dictating tempo while Amy Parmenter’s defensive pressure around the circle edge began to choke Fever’s transition game.
Still, Fever had weapons. Aiken-George’s finishing kept them within touching distance, and Glasgow’s Suncorp Super Shot ability swung momentum in key moments. When she nailed back-to-back long-range efforts, the margin suddenly tightened and the arm wrestle intensified.
A brief Fever surge forced a timeout as the Mavericks looked momentarily unsettled.
But composure returned through Nelson’s strength under the post and Price’s control through the middle.
At halftime, the scoreboard reflected the tension with a five-goal difference in the Mavericks' favour.
Jamie-Lee Price gains possession and feeds down court.
Whatever was said in the West Coast Fever rooms at half-time worked instantly.
Fever exploded out of the blocks with a 6–2 run, their defensive end lifting dramatically.
Fran Williams produced a beautiful intercept, Kadie-Ann Dehaney’s footwork disrupted every entry and suddenly the Mavericks looked panicked.
Aiken-George reasserted herself under the post, while Sasha Glasgow added crucial Suncorp Super Shors to erase the deficit.
The 13,847-strong crowd rose with every Fever surge as the home side clawed their way back into the contest.
But just as Fever seized momentum, the Mavericks found their anchor again, Jamie-Lee Price.
A crucial intercept, followed by precise feeds into Batcheldor swung the pendulum back.
Kim Brown added a massive defensive rebound, and Parmenter’s pressure forced key errors at critical moments.
Parmenter’s influence was impossible to ignore; she was everywhere, organising, harassing, and lifting her side when the game threatened to slip away.
The quarter became chaotic with intercepts, turnovers, Suncorp Super Shots, and momentum swings too fast to track. Uneeq Palavi’s shooting steadied the Mavericks late, ensuring they edged ahead again ahead of the final break.
At three-quarter time, the Mavericks were still ahead by three-goals.
Aiken-George shoots under pressure from Kim Brown.
The final quarter delivered exactly what the occasion demanded: pressure, precision, and pure nerve.
Aiken-George struck first, narrowing the gap.
Palavi answered immediately, and from that moment she became absolutely pivotal.
She was relentless at the post, and the steady hand the Mavericks built their finish around.
Defensively, Brown and Charlotte Sexton threw everything at Fever’s attack, while Parmenter continued to set the tone, leading like a true captain, controlling tempo, directing pressure, and refusing to let the moment overwhelm her side.
With under three minutes remaining, the margin was just two.
Then came Price, feeding Palavi through traffic for another crucial goal.
Fever responded through Glasgow cutting the margin to one.
Sasha Glasgow helped to keep the scoreboard ticking.
The tension was unbearable.
But the Mavericks refused to break.
Palavi delivered again and again; she carried the final quarter, ensuring the scoreboard never slipped away.
Parmenter, meanwhile, was immense in her captain’s role, leading every reset, every defensive stand, every moment of calm in chaos.
Her fingerprints were all over the closing stages.
When the final whistle sounded, the Mavericks etched history at RAC Arena, securing their first-ever win at the venue and strengthening their push for a finals berth.
