Fowler-Nembhard hits top form as Fever ease to victory

MELBOURNE, Australia (CMC):

Sharp goal shooting from Jamaican marvel Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Trinidadian ace Samantha Wallace-Joseph enabled their respective sides to secure commanding wins in the Super Netball League (SNL) yesterday in Australia.

Fowler-Nembhard scored 63 goals from 65 attempts, including a perfect three for three from Super Shot range, and her Jamaica teammate, Shanice Beckford, ended with eight from 11 to lead West Coast Fever to an 81-56 win against the West Coast Lightning in their second-round match at the RAC Arena.

Wallace-Joseph continued her path of recovery from a career-threatening knee injury with a perfect 37 from 37, including one Super Shot, to propel New South Wales Swifts to a 67-56 win against League newcomers Melbourne Mavericks at the Ken Rosewall Arena.

Fever sent a strong message to the rest of the SNL and ensured that they have yet to lose a quarter in their first two matches when they pounded one of the title favourites, Lightning.

Fowler-Nembhard was able to secure the first two goals for the Fever, and though there were a few early misses from both sides, indicating some nerves, got her side to lead 200-17 after the first quarter.

The match really opened up in the second period when Fever built on their lead, and Beckford at goal attack was invaluable to their effort with her cutting and drives drawing players outside the circle, enabling Fowler-Nembhard to get free.

The mid-court of both teams appeared shaky at times, but Fowler-Nembhard and Beckford made sure it was not costly to Fever, and they led 37-26 at half-time.

Fever carried all the momentum from there, with Beckford winning the ball against Lightning goalkeeper Courtney Bruce, a former member of the Fever squad, and that brought the crowd to their feet.

The ability of Beckford to find the circle’s edge and ultimately get the ball to Fowler-Nembhard was key to her team’s success. Fever continued to inflate their score to lead 57-42 at three-quarter time before running up the score in the final quarter.

The Swifts attack line exuded pure confidence when feeding the ball into Wallace-Joseph in the goal circle, and the hosts got off to a 20-12 lead after the first period.

A few tactical changes from the Swifts a little shy of the Power Five in the second quarter, changed the momentum and transformed their scoring end into more of a moving circle, which seemed to cause some confusion for the defenders and enabled the home team to take a 37-23 lead at half-time.

Though the Mavericks outscored the Swifts 33-30 in the second half of the contest, the home team were able to keep their distance and denied the league newcomers a maiden win.

Elsewhere, Jamaican defender Jodi-Ann Ward grabbed two interceptions and two gains, but her side, Giants, stumbled to defeat when Queensland Firebirds beat them 65-62 on Saturday at the Nissa Arena.

On the same day, the Jamaican defensive duo of 2023 League Most Valuable Player Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Latanya Wilson pulled off two rebounds, 11 intercepts, and 17 rebounds, but they could not disrupt the flow of Melbourne Vixens enough, and defending champions Adelaide Thunderbirds endured a heart-breaking 54-53 loss at the John Cain Arena.