Gabriel back

ALSO added to the Loughborough Lightning roster is young shooter Beth Gabriel - the 19-year-old goal attack, moved to the East Midlands side from Severn Stars in 2020 to study Sports Science at Loughborough Uni.

She said: “I’m so excited to be back at Lightning for my second season! I’m looking forward to gaining more experience and building with the team from where we left off.

“I’m going into my second year of a sports science degree at Loughborough University, so Lightning is the perfect fit. All the training and facilities are right here on campus so it’s the perfect environment for me to further my education and my netball at the same time.

“I really enjoyed my first year, I had such a great experience and being with Lightning has really developed my netball. Lockdown was hard, we were at the peak of our form and training so to then transition into training alone from home was definitely difficult. It really helped having team sessions and keeping in touch regularly and its paid off now because we’ve all managed to stay fit and can now push on with our training.”

Head Coach Sara Bayman looks to the likes of Gabriel to add depth to her 2021 side, with the older squad members providing vital experience and knowledge to share with the younger members;

“Beth really took every opportunity last year and will be wanting to do the same this season. She will be fighting for a spot in the England U21 squad and that added motivation will only help her make an impact for us in 2021.”