NSL Unwrapped: Panthers claim first victory in Round 6

Birmingham Panthers claimed their first-ever win with a 71-70 victory over fellow new franchise Nottingham Forest in Round 6 of the Netball Super League.

London Pulse kept their perfect score with a 61-56 win over Manchester Thunder as Loughborough Lightning clinched a crucial 69-57 victory over London Mavericks to fire them up the table.

Elsewhere, NIC Leeds Rhinos made sure that LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons will wait another week for the first win of the season, as they ran out 63-52 winners.

Panthers win thrilling battle of the newbies

Birmingham Panthers clawed their way to a 71-70 victory over Nottingham Forest in an exciting clash of the two new Netball Super League sides.

It looked to be all Forest early on as the visitors stormed to a 15-3 lead, but it was a case of down but never out for the home side.

A change of pace, combined with some smart play from Sigi Burger and Betsy Creak during the Soft and Gentle Super Shot, put them back in contention with a 17-11 scoreline at the end of the first quarter.

Slowly returning to competitiveness, attacking issues for Forest led to Panthers finally equalling the score in the third quarterto set up an absorbing final quarter.
It proved exactly that, with Creak ensuring her side took the lead for the first time from the off in the fourth quarter.

Forest's Rolene Streutker kept her team in contention until the very end but it was ultimately Panthers who came out on top in an incredible comeback to seal a first win of the campaign for Jo Trip's side.

Tchine and Fadoju fire Pulse to victory

Olivia Tchine and Funmi Fadoju were instrumental in keeping London Pulse's winning streak alive with a 61-56 victory over Manchester Thunder.

Goal shooter Tchine scored 37 goals at the Copper Box Arena, whilst a staggering three interceptions, six gains and 13 deflections saw Fadoju clinch the Kissimmee Player of Match award.

Victory puts Pulse six points ahead of second-placed Thunder in the Netball Super League standings after six rounds as Sam Bird's side eye a maiden Netball Super League title.

Pulse held a narrow lead of 29-26 at the halfway point before surging ahead in the third quarter.

A brilliant performance through the Soft & Gentle Super Shot for the visitors, scoring twice as many as Pulse, saw them close the deficit before they ultimately fell to a seven-goal defeat.

Victory for Pulse marked just their second win over Thunder in 11 meetings.

Lightning strike down Mavericks

Loughborough Lightning leapfrogged London Mavericks in the Netball Super League table with a 69-57 victory over their hosts at Hertfordshire Sports Village.

Vic Burgess' side had the chance to switch positions with Mavericks if they could secure all three points and came firing out of the blocks.

After trailing early on, the hosts overturned the score it to take the lead in the second quarter, making for a thrilling back and forth change of command before Lightning re-took the lead for a 37-32 advantage at the break.

In the second half, Mavericks seemed unable to keep up with the quick pace of Lightning, with Kissimmee Player of the Match Shadine van der Merwe working hard to get turnovers alongside Jodie Gibson in the Lightning defence.

Mavericks goal attack Emma Thacker was a standout for the home side, working hard in defence and attack, but despite their Soft & Gentle Super Shot efforts, the London team were unable to make enough of a dent and fell to a 69-57 defeat. 

Rhinos take the win

NIC Leeds Rhinos clinched their second win of the season with a 63-52 win over LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons in the Welsh capital.

Despite their opposition's Super Shot success, Rhinos saw a brilliant performance by goal shooter Joyce Mvula fire them into the lead early on, scoring 48 goals over the course of the game to take the title of Kissimmee Player of the Match.

Rhinos were made to work hard by Dragons in the opening quarter, with the two going toe-to-toe before the Yorkshire side pulled ahead to a 33-28 advantage at half time.

Their lead extended to a full 14 points in the third quarter, but Dragons looked to use the Soft & Gentle Super Shot to keep them in the game. Reinga Bloxham's side converted nine two-point efforts, to Rhinos' three, but it was not enough to claw back the deficit as the visitors saw out a comfortable victory on the road.

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