Severn Stars 66 62 Surrey Storm
Severn Stars caused a major upset in the Vitality Netball Superleague beating reigning champions Surrey Storm 66-62.
Stars, who before the match sat four places below their opposition, produced their most consistent performance of the season to claim back-to-back wins for the first time.
They saw out a tense final quarter, in which Storm got within two points of their lead, to thrill their supporters at the University of Worcester Arena and keep the team’s hopes of reaching the final four alive.
Storm, chasing a third successive title, raced to a 0-3 lead in the opening minutes courtesy of towering 6ft 7in goal shooter Megan Craig.
But Stars grew into the game and immediately roared back, with the solid defensive duo of goal keeper Josie Janz-Dawson and goal defence Jodie Gibson causing several turnovers, from which goal shooter Eleanor Cardwell was able to profit to cut the deficit to 6-8.
Storm eventually regained control, stretching their lead to 10-15 and threatened to run away with the first quarter.
But Stars rallied and hit back in the closing stages, with the impressive Cardwell and substitute goal attack Yasmin Hodge-England scoring to cut the deficit at the end of the first quarter to 13-15.
Stars came out firing in the second quarter and stunned the visitors, with slick attacking play allowing them to edge in front for the first time before they extended their advantage to five points, at 21-16.
But the visitors hit back and eventually levelled the game with three minutes left of the quarter through the sharp shooting of Craig.
Momentum continued in Storm’s favour as they edged ahead by two points in the final 90 seconds of the half, before a final push from Stars allowed Cardwell and Hodge-England to net to take Stars into the half-time break level at 29-29.
Stars continued to match Storm in an end-to-end third quarter, during which neither side could gain a decisive advantage.
With less than five minutes left of the quarter, Stars finally edged three points ahead after a defence-splitting pass from centre Laura Malcolm allowed Cardwell to net to make it 44-41.
A crucial interception from Janz-Dawson in the closing seconds of the quarter allowed Stars to launch a swift counter attack, from which Cardwell capitalised, ensuring Stars went into the final 15 minutes with a 50-45 lead.
The hosts continued to perform strongly in the final quarter, maintaining their five goal lead, with the pick of the goals coming from Cardwell who acrobatically prevented the ball from going out of bounds before swivelling to net from a difficult angle with seven minutes remaining.
Storm hit back, with their long-range passing game allowing Craig to make the most of her height advantage to bring the score back to within two points in a tense final few minutes.
But the hosts kept their composure and attacking pair Cardwell and Hodge-England continued their impressive performances to keep Stars ahead and ensure the victory.
Head Coach, Mo’onia Gerrard, said: “We’re delighted [with the performance]. There’s definitely a good feeling amongst the group, we just now need to push through.
“We’re starting to believe. We just need to believe in ourselves.
“The team is now developing, understanding and growing and the girls just need to learn off this and just keep on going.”
Stars travel to Team Bath on Friday (7:30pm) hoping to claim a third successive win.
Tickets for Severn Stars’ next home game against Manchester Thunder on Saturday 6 May (7.30pm) are available at www.severnstars.co.uk/fixturestickets.
Image credit: Tom Bennett at Razorlight Imagery