Vixens cool Fowler-Nembhard to book place in final

MELBOURNE, Australia (CMC):

Melbourne Vixens booked their place in the Grand Final of the Super Netball League in Australia after an uncharacteristic shaky performance from ace Jamaica goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard enabled them to come from behind twice and survive a late scare to beat West Coast Fever 73-72 in the preliminary final on Saturday.

The 35-year-old Jamaican, the most prolific scorer in the tournament, finished with 56 goals – including four of seven Super Shots – from 61 attempts, and she came under intense pressure with the introduction of Australia international goalkeeper Emily Mannix in the second half of the contest at the John Cain Arena, after the Fever led 19-18 after the first quarter and 38-37 at half-time.

Fowler-Nembhard lost out on possession when Mannix created a deflection within seconds of being on court, and she also let a pass burst through her fingers, fumbled another, and missed two Super Shots from which her side could not recover.

The Vixens led 57-52 after the third quarter and though they were outscored 20-16 in the final term, the Fever narrowly failed to overcome the deficit and missed out on the Grand Final for the second straight year after playing strongly during the regular season.

Defending champions Adelaide Thunderbirds, whose line-up includes the Jamaican trio of top-rated defensive pair Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Latanya Wilson, and veteran goal shooter Romelda Aiken-George, will host the Vixens in the Grand Final next Saturday at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Fever came out firing in the first quarter, with Fowler-Nembhard and fellow Jamaica goal attack Shanice Beckford scoring the first three consecutive goals of the match.

Jamaica international defender Kadie-Ann Dehaney knew exactly what her role was at goalkeeper and together with goal defence Fran Williams, put early pressure on the Vixens scoring pair of Sophie Garbin and Kiera Austin.

A battle started to form between Fowler-Nembhard and Vixens goalkeeper Rudi Ellis, and the pair were physical in their opposition and challenge of one another.

SUPER SHOT

The Vixens shooting end found their feet late in the quarter, and Austin reeled off three Super Shots to close the deficit, while Garbin scored a Super Shot in the final seconds to cut the deficit to one goal.

The second quarter was goal for goal between both sides, with the lead swapping on multiple occasions.

Alice Teague-Neeld made the difference for the Fever with her ability to move the ball down the court into the hands of the shooters, and she came away with seven goal assists and eight feeds for the period.

Beckford scored her second Super Shot in the final moments of the quarter to put Fever in front by one at half-time.

Fowler-Nembhard tried her best to hold it together against the defence of Ellis, Mannix and Weston, but Beckford continued to be an option, with one rebound, eight goal assists and 11 feeds for the quarter.

But the Fever could not find a way to break down the connection between Garbin and Austin, which changed the course of the match at the 11-minute mark, and seven goals from the pair late in the period put the Vixens ahead after the third term.