By Alexander Dabb
The Melbourne Vixens made an emphatic statement at Qudos Bank Arena on Sunday afternoon, notching a second win from as many games to open their premiership defence with a dominant 68-52 victory over the GIANTS.
With the two sides at different ends of the experience spectrum, it was the Vixens that proved a class above, widening the gap at every break to claim a second straight double-digit win.
It was the GIANTS that got off to a strong start via Lucy Austin, who started on court in round two having had to bide her time before seeing the action in round one, firing home the first six GIANTS goals, including the opening goal of the contest, which were matched by the Vixens.
It was the visitors that managed to find the first break, however, going ahead 8-6 after scoring from a turnover and then converting the subsequent centre pass, a lead they would maintain heading into the first Power Five period of the game ahead 12-10.
The GIANTS got a taste of the Vixens’ scoring power, though, as both Kiera Austin and Sophie Garbin converted with great accuracy to capitalise on a pair of Lucy Austin misses at the other end, and when Kiera Austin sunk the first Suncorp Super Shot of the game to make it five in a row for the Vixens, the lead had suddenly ballooned to 18-11.
The home side rallied late as Lucy Austin sunk her first Super Shot of the contest to draw back to 15-18 behind at the break, but the Vixens were holding sway all over the court.
It would be a similar story in the second as the GIANTS closed the gap to get within one goal, before the Vixens managed to forge ahead with great efficiency, as Kate Moloney and Hannah Mundy began to dominate in the middle third.
Mundy recorded nine feeds and four goal assists in the second term, while Kiera Austin was phenomenal both inside and outside the circle, racking up five goal assists while shooting at 100 per cent, including two from range, as the Vixens stormed out to a 37 to 25 lead at half time.
Sophie Garbin was outstanding for the Vixens on Sunday.
The GIANTS proved more competitive in the third term, matching the Vixens for most of the quarter, with both Sophie Dwyer and Matisse Letherbarrow draining long range attempts inside the final five minutes of the term to ensure the home side levelled the stanza at 13 points apiece, though a Garbin goal right on the buzzer meant the margin crept out by one to see the Vixens lead by 13 goals at the final change.
There were stars everywhere for the Vixens in the third term, with Jo Weston proving influential in defence, while Moloney continued to excel in centre, as it looked all too easy for the reigning premier.
The margin continued to grow in the final term as the sting went out of the contest, with the Vixens at one stage opening up a game-high 18-goal lead, and while some solid long-range shooting from Letherbarrow late helped the GIANTS close back to within 14, the home side was unable to get any closer, as Kiera Austin proved equally as effective, draining two-pointers at the other end.
The final 16-point margin was a result of a total team dominance from the Vixens, with all 10 players taking to the court throughout the contest, however it was Weston that was named player of the match, notching 95.5 net points for her nine deflection, five intercept and four rebound effort.
Moloney wasn’t far behind, with the skipper tallying 128.5 net points as the highest rated player on court with a 23 feed, 15 goal assist showing, while Sophie Garbin shot 42 of the total 68 points for the Vixens, going at 87.5 per cent in a brilliant shooting display.
Skipper Kate Moloney was again influential in the midcourt.
Dwyer finished the afternoon as the GIANTS highest rated player, nailing nine of eleven shooting attempts and racking up 75.5 net points, while the midcourt trio of Whitney Souness, Amy Sligar and Hope White were tireless in their efforts all game.
Jane Watson had another superb outing, proving a handful for the opposition shooters, while Tilly McDonell made a positive impact in her final Suncorp Super Netball game after announcing her retirement earlier in the week.
The Vixens will look to make it three straight wins to start the year when they take on the Mavericks in the highly anticipated Melbourne Derby at 5pm on Saturday at John Cain Arena, while the GIANTS will search for their first win of the season against the West Coast Fever on Sunday at 4pm away from home.
