By Alexander Dabb
They’ve been on the wrong end of a one-goal result twice already this season, but the Melbourne Mavericks were in no mood to make it three on Sunday afternoon.
In a thrilling encounter that had it all, the Mavericks edged out the Queensland Firebirds to clinch a 58-57 victory, denying the Firebirds a spot in the top four by climbing into fourth spot themselves to end the round.
A stirring ANZAC Day ceremony commenced proceedings at Nissan Arena before the two sides went at it, and it was the Mavericks that jumped out to the first break within the first few possessions of the game, with Shimona Nelson making a hot start to fire the visitors out to a 6-3 early lead.
But the Firebirds, buoyed by last week’s big win over the Swifts, fought back immediately, levelling the score at 7-7 before going on with it too, taking the lead for the first time at 10-9 and racing out to a game high 16-11 lead before coach Gerard Murphy called the first tactical timeout of the contest for the Mavs.
The home side scored off the first possession back from the break, though, to extend the lead to six as Mary Cholhok and Te Paea Selby-Rickit dominated the Mavs defence, but despite the dominance in the middle of the quarter, a held ball and some accurate shooting from Nelson kept the Mavs in touch at quarter time, trailing 16-19.
The ferocious contest continued after the break as the Mavs worked themselves back into the game, with Jamie Lee-Price chief amongst the influential players for the visitors, however it was goal-for-goal to start the contest as the Firebirds held strong.
Shimona Nelson was on song in the shooting circle.
Eventually the Mavs drew themselves level at 28 apiece, before firing ahead to a 30-28 advantage as the lead switched yet again off the back of some brilliant defensive efforts from Jessie Grenvold, while Price continued her domination of the midcourt.
The Firebird brought it back to a single goal margin at the long break, though, trailing 32-33 as Cholhok converted the final shot of the half, although found herself on a warning for retaliating after taking exception to some rough contact from the Mavs defenders.
It looked fairly even across the key stats at half time, and on the scoreboard, but the physical nature of the contest made the imbalance in penalties glaringly obvious, with the Mavericks giving up 36 to the Firebirds’ 19 at the long break.
As it had been all day, the start to the third term was goal-for-goal until the Firebirds found the ascendancy, forcing yet another lead change as the likes of Kelly Jackson and skipper Ruby Bakewell-Doran began to assert themselves defensively, before Cholhok fired the home side to a 40-38 advantage early on.
The lead was short lived, as Nelson scored two consecutive goals at the other end to once again tie things up, before Reilley Batcheldor sunk the first Suncorp Super Shot of the contest off a Charlotte Sexton intercept to give the visitors the edge again at 43-41.
It was a frenetic final few minutes, as the Firebirds got back with a goal late, although Nelson had the chance to give the Mavs a two-goal lead after the siren following a penalty, but couldn’t convert, leaving the visitors ahead 45-44 with a quarter to play.
The game followed the script in the final term, too, as Mavs skipper Amy Parmenter received a warning early after a late contact call, one of 14 she gave away throughout the contest, before the Firebirds claimed the lead back again at 49-48.
Mary Cholhok was a real presence for the Firebirds, finishing with the most net points of any player on court.
In a game that had it all, there was even an injury timeout as Sexton was left dripping blood from her nose after copping a knock going for a rebound, but on resumption it was the home side that furthered the lead, going ahead by two.
But the Mavs weren’t to be denied another close finish, drawing level at 52 apiece, then ahead 54-52, and it was a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the contest.
The Firebirds were valiant, fighting to the final siren as Cholhok sunk her only long-range attempt to get the home side back to within one goal, but it was ultimately too late, as the Mavs held possession for the final few seconds off the ensuing centre pass to wrap up a brilliant victory.
It was the opposing goal shooters in Cholhok and Nelson that led the way in terms of net points for their respective teams, earning 74 and 69.5 each though Nelson won the scoring battle with 45 goals at 92 per cent, just edging out Cholhok’s 40 goals from 49 attempts, as well as a super shot from her only attempt.
Selby-Rickit was brilliant too for the Firebirds, earning 70 net points shooting 12 of 13 attempts and racking up 22 feeds, though she ended on the bench, while Price (57.5 net points, 16 goal assists and 2 deflections), Batcheldor (49.5 net points, 12/14 shooting and 12 goal assists) and Kim Brown (45 net points, 2 intercepts, 4 deflections) helped power their side to the win.
The victory ensures the Mavs finish Round 7 inside the top four, sitting in fourth, while the loss keeps the Firebirds in sixth.
It will be another big clash back at John Cain Arena in Round 8 for the Mavericks when they host the NSW Swifts this Saturday evening, while the Firebirds will look to regroup ahead of a trip to Adelaide Entertainment Centre to take on the second-placed Thunderbirds.
