Netball Super League | #VNSL2018 review: benecosMavericks

Round-by-Round Recap

W	L	+	–	+/-	GA	Pts
10	8	979	912	67	1.07	30

Round 1 – Celtic Dragons 49 – 61 benecosMavericks

Reflecting on the first round of the 2018 Vitality Netball Superleague, Celtic Dragons Centre, Kyra Jones said: “We started off really well, the first quarter was very good and then we had a bit of a lapse in the second. However, we came back in the third and fourth and did what we should have done in the second.”

Round 2 – benecosMavericks 64-62 Surrey Storm

Surrey Storm took time to find their feet and trailed at the end of the first quarter. benecosMavericks continued to dominate play but despite taking a 49-43 lead going into the final quarter, Sigi Burger equalised for Storm in the dying seconds to take the game to extra-time.

Round 3 – benecosMavericks 68-46 Severn Stars

benecosMavericks took 100% of their turnovers to goal in the third quarter as they won all four quarters and the game against Severn Stars. benecosMavericks Director of Netball, Kat Ratnapala said: “It was fantastic to christen our first outing at the University of Essex with a convincing win and to get all 12 players out on court tonight.”

Round 4 – benecosMavericks 52-66 Wasps Netball

Wasps Netball extended their unbeaten start to the season with a win at Essex University, home of previously unbeaten benecosMavericks. Wasps built an early five-goal lead but Mavericks showed flashes of defensive excellence and threatened to get back into game. The defending champions showed good composure to quickly re-assert their authority though.

Round 5 – Team Northumbria 53-71 benecosMavericks

benecosMavericks made it four out of five wins to keep pace with the leading pack. There was nothing to separate the sides as they went in level at half-time in the ensuing back and forth encounter. But benecosMavericks stepped up a gear in the third quarter to open up a comfortable and unassailable advantage.

Round 6 – benecosMavericks 46-44 UWS Sirens

The home side moved out to a 10-goal cushion at one stage in the final quarter but UWS Sirens roared back, narrowing the gap to two with three minutes to go. benecosMavericks Head Coach, Kat Ratnapala praised the Scottish side: “Sirens showed their resilience and were not prepared to give us the win easily.”

Round 7 – Manchester Thunder 49-52 benecosMavericks

Manchester Thunder slumped to a loss at the Thunderdome. It was the first defeat of the season for the Black and Yellows, but a deserved win for the visitors, who punished Thunder’s inability to take advantage of any momentum they managed to force.

Round 8 – Loughborough Lightning 54-41 benecosMavericks

benecosMavericks flew out the traps to lead at the end of the opening 15 minutes, but a refreshed Loughborough Lightning side found their rhythm early in the second quarter, moving the ball through the court with ease. They upped the pressure in the third and fourth quarters to pull away in a physical encounter.

Round 9 – benecosMavericks 57-41 Team Bath Netball

benecosMavericks opened up a six-goal lead after the opening quarter and never looked back with some sharp shooting seeing them extend their advantage going into half-time. Five-time champions Team Bath struggled to keep possession and turnover ball, while benecosMavericks kept the scoreboard ticking over.

Round 10 – Surrey Storm 43-56 benecosMavericks

benecosMavericks got off to the stronger start and while Surrey Storm rallied time and time again to comeback, the visitors held onto the lead and ended the opening quarter 15-12 up. Kat Ratnapala’s side quickly extended their advantage, thanks to some great precision from their shooters.

Round 11 – Wasps Netball 57-50 benecosMavericks

Kat Ratnapala’s team fought back from a six-goal half-time deficit to level in the third quarter but they faltered over the closing 15 minutes as Wasps Netball secured their 15th win of the season to sign off their home campaign.

Round 12 – Severn Stars 55-44 benecosMavericks

Severn Stars secured their first home win of the season in style with victory over high-flying benecosMavericks. Mavericks had led for much of a tightly contested first half of the match but Stars, spurred on by an enthusiastic home crowd, took the lead in the third quarter and never surrendered it, dominating through a combination of defensive pressure and smooth attacking play.

Round 13 – benecosMavericks 68-36 Celtic Dragons

After a tricky opening quarter, Celtic Dragons trailed 16-8 at the first break. Momentum stuck with the home side throughout with Karyn Bailey and Kalifa McCollin shooting at 96% and 88% respectively.

Round 14 – benecosMavericks 59-40 Team Northumbria

benecosMavericks Head Coach, Kat Ratnapala: “There were patches of pure world class netball which I hope the fans were excited to watch. There were definitely a few standout performances tonight with McCollin having shot 91% and Everitt’s defensive pressure in and around the circle. Michelle Drayne worked tirelessly and disrupted a lot of Northumbria’s attacking play.”

Round 15 – Team Bath 54-45 benecosMavericks

Team Bath reinvigorated their challenge for a semi-final spot. They looked to have the points safely in the bag as they took an eight-goal lead into the final quarter but Mavericks, spearheaded by a 100 per cent shooting rate from Karyn Bailey, refused to accept defeat and cut the gap to two with six minutes still to go. Team Bath dug deep though to record a vital victory.

Round 16 – benecosMavericks 47-52 Manchester Thunder

Manchester Thunder held off several comebacks from their hosts to return home with the points in the bag. Thunder Head Coach Karen Greig said: “Our full-court defensive effort was fantastic again, but we just didn’t reward ourselves as much as we would have liked. We were put under immense pressure at times but we maintained our composure at key points which saw us take the win.”

Round 17 – benecosMavericks 51-62 Loughborough Lightning

A dominant run either side of half-time was enough to give in-form Loughborough Lightning victory. An 18-5 run in favour of the relentless away team all but ended the resistance of their hosts. Every time benecosMavericks threatened a comeback, Lightning responded to pull away again.

Round 18 – UWS Sirens 49-47 benecosMavericks

The two sides went head-to-head in front of a Glasgow crowd dressed for summer as UWS Sirens brought the curtain down on their season with a beach party theme. A fierce performance from the home team saw them go out on a high in 2018 and also ended benecosMavericks’ hopes of a place in the semi-finals.

Squad
Summer Artman, Karyn Bailey, Steph Collard, Sasha Corbin, Clare Drakeford, Michelle Drayne, Beth Ecuyer-Dale, Zara Everitt, Lindsay Keable, Ellie Kelk, Gabriella Marshall, Kalifa McCollin, Alice Travis, Frankie Wells.

British Fast5 All-Stars Championship
benecosMavericks will be one of eight Vitality Netball Superleague teams at the Copper Box Arena for the British Fast5 All-Stars Championship.

The best of British netball will be showcased in the short form of the game on Saturday 13th October from 1-6pm.

benecosMavericks were involved in the inaugural competition last year, winning one (Surrey Storm 11-20 benecosMavericks) and losing two (benecosMavericks 5-26 Team Bath and benecosMavericks 8-24 Severn Stars) of their matches.

Will they battle their way through to the semi-finals in 2018? Get tickets to see the action live!