PANTHERS CLAW OUT WIN
Panthers respond late to take down physical Bull Sharks
NETBALL: They were forced to work for it, but the Darling Downs Panthers have kept their Ruby Series winning run intact.
The Panthers made it four wins from their past five games after defeating the Bond University Bull Sharks 51-49 at Downlands College.
Full of confidence after claiming the round three fixture, the Bull Sharks shot out to an early 18-8 lead through one quarter.
Turning things up in defence paid dividends in the second term, with the Panthers forcing a number of turnovers to trail by two goals at the main break.
Again the Bull Sharks were able to open up a seven-goal advantage before the home side got the score back to 40-38 with one quarter to play.
A quick start gave the Panthers their first lead of the contest early in the fourth quarter, with an 8-2 run helping to set up the victory.
Coach Bec Stower praised the way her side was able to respond to physical tactics from the Bull Sharks, who were desperately chasing a win to keep on pace with the top four.
“We had to be pretty strong. We let it get into our heads in the first quarter. We were playing into their game,” Stower said.
“We talked about our
mindset of playing smart, and a different team came out in the second term.
“Lucy Blakeney came into wing attack to try and change things up. They were playing off-body defence, trying to box us into an area and force us wide.
“It was a bit intimidating for us because Bond were very vocal and we were a bit quiet and flat early.
“It was physically a very tough match. They were regularly rotating players and they were sent to wear people down.”
The Panthers were able to bounce back from deficits and get back to even, but Stower said they were finally able to break through in the fourth term.
“We talked about breaking through. We would get the scores to level and then we’d find ourselves down again,” she said.
“I knew that once we started to get that momentum, they would start to scramble. We were able to start causing disruptions.
“We wanted to focus on a good first five minutes (of the fourth quarter), and then our second five was better.”
It gives the Panthers plenty of momentum heading into their round 10 clash with the USQ Jets at Nissan Arena on Sunday.
“I’m looking forward to taking on the Jets again,” Stower said.
“We played them in the second round where we hadn’t found our groove yet, so it will be interesting to see how much we’ve improved.”