Bassett has blinder as Lightning strikes form

NETBALL: The Sunshine Coast Lightning displayed all the fighting qualities of a champion side with a droughtbreaking 52-50 victory over Collingwood in Melbourne yesterday.

Without head coach Noeline Taurua, who was in New Zealand to be with her ill father, and staring down the barrel of a 0-4 start to their Super Netball championship defence, the odds were stacked against the Lightning as they faced the star-studded Magpies.

But the Lightning lifted the trophy in 2017 for a reason. They are made of tough stuff and, under the guidance of asing sistant coach Kylee Byrne, captured their first win of 2018 after surviving a fourth-quarter comeback from the home side.

The Sunshine Coast won the first three quarters at Margaret Court Arena to bank three bonus points and held a commanding eight-goal buffer at three-quarter time after lead- by as many as nine goals.

The Magpies closed to within two goals in the final term but the Lightning held on with Caitlin Bassett hitting a perfect 37 shots from 37 attempts.

Bassett won ‘player of the match’ but said goal defence Karla Pretorius was the most influential Lightning player with seven intercepts.

“She (Pretorius) was an absolute dynamo for us,” Bassett said.

In other Round 5 games, the Giants beat the Queensland Firebirds 53-5, the Vixens thrashed the Thunderbirds 7250 and leaders Fever beat the Swifts 63-54.