MATCH REPORT | Loughborough Lightning 68-60 Saracens Mavericks (NSL Rd 10)
Saracens Mavericks impressed again, but ultimately fell short against champions Loughborough Lightning at the Sir David Wallace Arena.
After pushing London Pulse to the limit on Monday night, Camilla Buchanan's side had to contend with a short turnaround heading into this one, but you wouldn't have known it from the way the side started off. With an unchanged side looking to keep the champions at bay, Mavericks started well, with Ine-Mari Venter and Emma Thacker adding early scores on the board.
Lightning though are hunting back-to-back titles and they responded to the early pressure well, as they made the most of a turnover to assert themselves on the night with a four-goal lead.
Mavericks needed a response and they found it with a superb turnover from Razia Quashie, that allowed her side the breathing space they needed for Venter to start to close the gap.
Despite Lightning looking to pull clear again, Quashie produced another crucial intervention, with Indya Masser and Georgia Lees finding pockets of space for Venter and Thacker to level up the contest.
Whilst Lightning ultimately went in with a narrow lead at the end of the first quarter, Mavericks continued to stick to task. Despite finding themselves four goals down on the scoreboard thanks to an inspired shooting performance from Lightning's Mary Cholhok, Camilla Buchanan's side refused to go away.
Even with the deficit stretching to six goals, the team kept their composure, with Venter continuing to chip away at the scoreboard.
Lightning were looking to keep the pace high, but Mavericks matched their intensity throughout, as they went into half-time still very much in the contest.
At the start of the second half, it looked as though the efforts the side had put in on Monday night were beginning to catch up with them, as Lightning extended their lead to nine goals, only for Quashie to wrestle momentum back again after another superb turnover in defence. Venter was keeping the scoreboard ticking over in the shooting circle, with Thacker more than adding her fair share of the goals with several stunning long-distance successes, as Mavs slowly narrowed the gap again.
With Jodie Gibson getting in on the defensive action with a crucial intercept, Mavs managed to keep in contact throughout the third quarter, leaving them with something to chase heading into the final quarter.
In the final quarter, Cholhok continued to display her world-class shooting ability, as her side stretched their advantage again, but Mavs continued to show resilience, with Vicki Oyesola and Kira Rothwell lifting the energy when they made their way onto court.
It was Mavs who would have the final say too, as Venter took her side to 60 goals as the buzzer sounded.
Whilst it was a defeat on the night, this was another performance that showed Mavericks are certainly moving in the right direction as they head into the second half of the season.
