By Alexander Dabb
You can’t keep a champion side down for long.
While the Melbourne Vixens may have dropped their first game of the season last week against the Sunshine Coast Lightning, they more than made up for it in their Round 11 clash on Sunday afternoon against the NSW Swifts.
Hosting the Swifts in this season’s second battle for the Sargeant-McKinnis Cup, the Vixens prevailed with a dominant showing, doing much of the damage early to take the win 67-57 in front of a sold-out John Cain Arena.
The Swifts were looking to make a quick start on the road, but they were shellshocked early as the Vixens raced out of the blocks to score the opening four goals of the contest, with the early lead punctuated by the typical full-court pressure the home side brings.
The Swifts soon settled though, and while the margin fluctuated between two and four goals, the visitors were unable to eat into the deficit permanently, as the Vixens still led by four as the Power Five siren sounded, with Sophie Garbin making sure the work of her teammates up the court went rewarded, shooting at 100 per cent accuracy throughout the opening term.
The final five minutes of the quarter saw some brilliant moments, as the Vixens turned the ball over and capitalised on the scoreboard, out to a five-goal lead which soon became six as they converted off the centre pass with three minutes remaining.
But the Swifts fired back through Grace Whyte, who made the first Suncorp Super Shot of the game to cut the deficit to four, before Grace Nweke reeled in a high pass and shot to cut it to three.
Just as quickly as they found the momentum, though, the Vixens wrestled it back, as Kiera Austin pushed it back out to four as Whyte missed from range at the other end, while an Austin Suncorp Super Shot after the quarter-time whistle following a contact penalty ensured the home side led 18-12 at the break.
Jo Weston was highly impactful for the Vixens.
The Vixens looked to press the advantage early in the second, too, as they ratcheted up the pressure to again score the opening four goals of the term, racing out to a 10-goal advantage with two and a half minutes played in the second quarter.
It was soon a game-high 12 goals, as the home side made it look all too easy.
The midcourt trio of Kate Moloney, Kate Eddy and Zara Walters looked to have as much time and space as they wanted, with Moloney earning five goal assists and 32 net points as the highest rated player on the court in the second term.
Again, though, the final five minutes of the term brought chaos, and just as the Vixens looked to have it all under control, Whyte dragged the Swifts back into the contest from range.
Three Suncorp Super Shots from as many attempts in the final five minutes saw the home side’s advantage cut back to the quarter-time margin of six goals, with the Vixens’ dominance for the opening 10 minutes of the term wiped away on the scoreboard.
Garbin did ensure the Vixens won the term by one goal though, shooting one on the half time buzzer, with the home side heading into the rooms ahead 36-29.
There was nothing in it in throughout the third term, as the Vixens tried to forge ahead, but the Swifts found an answer every time, doing just enough to curb the momentum of the home side whenever they began to pull away.
Much of that was done off the back of Sharni Lambden, who was superb with four deflections and two gains for 35.5 net points in the third quarter at wing defence, ensuring the Swifts remained a chance.
Sophie Garbin was at her accurate best against the Swifts.
The visitors closed the deficit to as little as six goals late in the term, but the Vixens edged back out to eight, which is where is sat at the final break, the reigning premier ahead 50-42.
As brave as the Swifts had been for the entire contest, though, they were unable to overcome the might of the Vixens in the final term.
Jo Weston was phenomenal in the early part of the fourth quarter, the stats belying the impact she had on the contest, as she helped the Vixens firstly re-establish a 10-goal advantage, before pushing it out to 12 goals as the Power Five siren sounded for the final time.
All eyes were on Whyte as the Swifts tried to make a charge, and while she sunk her sixth and seventh from range to cut the deficit to eight at one point in a remarkable shooting display, it proved too little, too late.
The home side managed to steady, scoring the final two of the game, to secure a 10-goal win, their 10th victory of the season, making amends for the loss last week much to the delight of coach Di Honey.
“(I’m) very, very pleased, and to the Sunshine Lightning’s credit last week, they played super,” she said.
“But I knew that our girls could turn it around, we did our homework this week and worked on some key areas that we needed to focus on, and I think was executed tonight, which made a difference.”
Zara Walters finished as the highest rated player on the court.
Honey also provided an update on Hannah Mundy, who was absent once again in the midcourt for the Vixens through injury, however Honey is optimistic she isn’t far away from a return.
“They'll probably try and load her up this week and see how she goes, but we're confident that she should be available next week,” she said.
“It'll be nice to have her back on court, we do miss her, but yeah, that's the plan.”
The Vixens midcourt certainly still fired on all cylinders despite missing Mundy, with Walters leading all comers with 97 net points, while skipper Moloney was next best with 78.5 in another strong display.
Both the attacking and defensive ends were strong too for the home side, with Garbin brilliant under the ring, shooting 48 goals at 94 per cent accuracy, while Weston was named player of the match for her impactful showing in defence.
The win also secures the Sargeant-McKinnis Cup for the Vixens after winning both of the encounters between the two sides this season, taking it out with an 18-goal advantage on aggregate, having also enjoyed an eight-goal win in the Round 5 contest.
It sets up a huge top of the table clash next weekend, too, as the Vixens travel to take on the Adelaide Thunderbirds on Sunday afternoon as both sides make their bid for the minor premiership.
For the Swifts, a top four finish is now seemingly out of their hands as they find themselves two wins behind the Mavericks with three rounds remaining, however will look to bounce back with a win next week against the Firebirds at home on Sunday to keep the dream alive.
