Aiken prevails despite Fowler-Reid brilliance
Jhaniele Fowler-Reid produced a near perfect performance but Sunshine Girls teammate Romelda Aiken had the last laugh, as Queensland Firebirds ended West Coast Fever’s four-game unbeaten start to the season with a resounding 71-61 defeat here last weekend.
Playing at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Saturday in the Suncorp Super Netball League, Firebirds stormed to a 35-30 half-time lead before blowing away the visitors in the final quarter to secure a dominant win.
Goalshooter Aiken scored 45 goals from 51 attempts to lead Firebirds, while goal attack Gretel Tippett supported with 26 from 28 attempts.
Fowler-Reid, the league’s leading scorer this season in her maiden campaign, knocked down 48 from 49 to spearhead Fever’s attack, while Nat Medhurst at goal attack tallied 11 from 14.
Fowler-Reid went 14 from 15 attempts to keep the game close but Firebirds stretched their advantage in the second quarter, outscoring their opponents 18-14.
Neither Aiken nor Fowler-Reid could be separated, each proving perfect from the circle with 10 and 11 goals respectively.
In the third quarter, the two titans were virtually unstoppable with both shooting 12 from 12, as Firebirds narrowly outscored Fever 17-16 to take a crucial 51-47 lead at the start of the final quarter.
With the result still up in the air, Firebirds put any lingering hopes of a Fever comeback to bed by clobbering them 20-14.
While Aiken was not at her best, shooting 10 from 15, Tippett stepped up to net 10 from 11 and lead the Firebirds’ assault.
For the third straight quarter, Fowler-Reid did not miss a single attempt, converting all 11, but the effort was not sufficient to save Fever from their first defeat of the season.