Wallace-Joseph powers Lightning to fifth NSL win

England-based national netballer Samantha Wallace-Joseph scored a combined 57 goals to lead three-time champions Loughborough Lightning to a dominant 83-69 win over Birmingham Panthers to improve to 5-0 in the England Netball Super League (NSL) on Saturday.

The 32-year-old Wallace-Joseph got off to a perfect start at the Sir David Wallace Arena, scoring 11 of 11 one-goal attempts and four of four ‘Amex Super Shots’ while Ella Clark chipped in with four goals for the Lightning to lead 23-18 at the end of the first quarter, with Betsy Creak getting 12 goals and Tiana Metuarau two of two regular shots and two super shots for the Panthers.

It was more of the same from Wallace-Joseph in the second quarter as she scored 11 of 12 goals while Clark added a combined eight goals to help secure a 19-17 advantage for a 42-35 lead at the half-time interval with Metuarau (ten goals combined) and Creak (seven on target) for Panthers.

On the resumption, Wallace-Joseph continued her consistent contribution, scoring 12 goals, highlighted by three super shots, while substitute Berri Neil added eight, inclusive of two super shots, and Clark, two goals, as they outscored Panthers 22-19 to extend their lead to 66-54 with the final quarter left to play.

In the final 15-minute period, Wallace-Joseph and her teammates continued to score at will, with the T&T standout scoring 15 goals, laced with four super shots from five attempts, while Neil chipped in with four goals to secure a 19-15 period victory and 83-69 on the night.

With the win, Lightning stayed perfect, five wins out of five matches, for 15 points, two more than their next opponent on April 4, AO Manchester Thunder.

The Toco-born Wallace-Joseph ended with 57 goals, which featured 35 goals from 37 attempts and 11 of 13 super shots to take her overall tally on the season to 201 goals from 228 attempts, comprising 153 goals from 165 attempts, along with 48 of 63 super shots at 88 per cent accuracy to lead all scorers.

Speaking after the win, the T&T goal shooter, who won multiple titles with the New South Wales Swifts during her eight-year stint in the Australian Suncorp Netball League, told BBC Sport, “It can be hard [being unbeaten] because all the teams are coming for us.”

“It’s just about keeping our consistency going, gelling together and executing the game plan.”

In other matches, Manchester Thunder defeated Nottingham Forest 78-53, with England’s Eleanor Cardwell contributing 39 goals for Thunder. While London Mavericks got 35 goals from George Inger in a 58-54 victory against LexisNexis Dragons in Saturday’s two other matches, on Friday, Olivia Tchine top-scored with 32 goals as London Pulse beat Leeds Rhinos 61-52.

Latest Netball Super League standings

Pos Teams P W L GF GA GD Bonus Pts Pts

1. Loughborough Lightning 5 5 0 363 291 71 0 15

2. Manchester Thunder 5 4 1 325 271 54 1 13

3. London Pulse 5 4 1 302 284 18 0 12

4. Nottingham Forest 5 3 2 305 319 -14 1 10

5. London Mavericks 5 1 4 310 298 12 1 7

6. LexisNexis Dragons 5 1 4 281 304 -23 2 5

7. NIC Leeds Rhinos 5 1 4 251 293 -42 0 3

8. Birmingham Panthers 5 0 5 263 339 -76 0 0