VU-Western Lightning breathed a sigh of relief after snapping a worrying two-game losing skid on Wednesday night.
Lightning’s 61-42 win over cellar-dweller Ballarat Pride put Lightning back in the top four in the Victorian Netball League championship and proved it can get the job done without star goalkeeper Fiona Themann.
Themann has moved to Scotland on her dual-citizen passport in a bid to be part of that nation’s Commonwealth Games team later this year.
“I’m really rapt and proud of her,” Lightning coach Matt Hills told the
Weekly. “She has taken 12 months off from her school teaching and now she’s living the dream.
“It’s a massive loss for us because Brooke [Thompson] and Fiona have arguably been the best defensive group in the competition.”
The Lightning brought in a capable replacement in Samoan international Sononu Robertson to fill the void. But Robertson was unavailable to play against the Pride because of international commitments.
Her absence gave teenager Lucy Vercher an opportunity.
Vercher took a while to find her feet early in the game but appeared more settled in a new role after half-time.
After leaking 24 goals in the first half, the Lightning coughed up just 18 after the break.
“Lucy has been playing a lot of wing defence and goal defence in the younger division 1 team,” Hills said.
“It’s a massive step up from that level and a big change for her to go back to a position she played in under-19s, but she worked really hard.”
With a weaker back end on paper, the Lightning has to compensate with added scoring power and did that against Pride with a season-high 61 goals.
Amelia Hills was a thorn in the side of her opponents in a stunning mid-court display, while goalers Kate Thompson (45 from 59) and Sophie Barr (16 from 19) posted big numbers.
While pleased with victory, Hills knows that for his side to cause an upset against unbeaten reigning premiers City West Falcons this week, his players will need to go up another level on both ends of the court.
“We’re going to have to be at our very best if you look at their [Falcons’} current form,” he said.
“We always look forward to that challenge and we’ve got a great group of girls that really want to work hard for each other.”
Meanwhile, the Falcons made it seven from seven with a 53-34 win against the Southern Saints.
The Falcons again rolled out a three-pronged attack through Kath Knott (23 from 27), Alice Teague-Neeld (20 from 21) and Julia Woolley (10 from 13). .
