T&T’s Samantha Wallace showed nerves of steel to drain the match-saving shot as the New South Wales Swifts salvaged a 59-59 draw with the Melbourne Vixens in their Suncorp Super Netball League Round Three encounter at Hisense Arena, Melbourne, Australia on Saturday.
The Vixens led at every change, and by five goals with seven minutes left, but could not hold off the fighting Swifts who earned the draw in the final seconds of the game, thanks to a strong second and fourth quarter.
It was a slow and shaky start from both sides who were guilty of giving away early turnovers before Vixens shooter Mwai Kumwenda got the scoreboard rolling.
In front of a vocal home crowd the Vixens began to pull away, with Kumwenda being delivered great service from her midcourt to lead 16-11 at the end of the first quarter.
Emerging from the break the Swifts looked determined and composed, and went about switching momentum to their advantage and what eventuated was an exciting contest as both the Swifts and Vixens lifted the intensity on court.
Toco-born goalshooter Wallace then started to have more influence on the game, as her long-range shooting came into play while her partner, goalattack and England international Helen Housby, helped free up the circle with strong drives.
Soon the Swifts were back within two goals which brought the parochial Victorian crowd into full voice and despite their solid fight-back the crowd helped the Vixens regain their composure, sending the Swifts in half-time facing a three-goal deficit at 31-28.
The Swifts side continued their solid run into the third quarter, bringing the game back to within one goal just minutes into the second half.
The game then began to pick up as did the crowd, and the Swifts began to find that much needed tenacity with vice-captain Paige Hadley commanding the midcourt.
But as the crowd became more involved the Swifts began to lose focus, which led to the Vixens taking advantage – quickly getting back out to an eight goal lead and at the end of the third, Vixens led 47-43.
This led to a tactical time-out, with Swifts coach Robert Wright bringing Amy Sommerville onto goalattack for her first Suncorp Super Netball appearance.
The change was immediate, with Sommerville giving the Swifts’ attacking line a new look and feel with her quick hands and release bringing the dominant Wallace back into the game.
With the Swifts in a frenzy, and time quickly ticking down, fans were on the edge of their seats in the final minutes.
A handy intercept from Sommerville finished with the ball safely in Wallace’s hands under the post, who put up the equaliser with under five seconds remaining.
Wallace finished with a game-high 43 goals from 54 attempts for an 80 per cent shooting average, but the standout 23-year-old shooter was almost shaded by a breakout game from Vixens defender Emily Mannix who kept the Swifts feeders guessing all night while Kumwenda’s 39 goals from 43 attempts at 91 per cent was eye catching as well for the host before she was shut down in a tough defensive effort from the Swifts in the last quarter.
Housby chipped in with 13 goals from 14 attempts at 93 per cent shooting and Sommerville three of four at 75 per cent while Tegan Phillip was the other scorer for the Vixens, with 20 from attempts at 87 per cent.
With the drawn, the Swifts moved into a three-way tie with Queensland Firebirds and Melbourne Vixens with three points each but fourth on goal-difference, while newcomers Giants Netball lead with maximum six points from three matches, one ahead of Sunshine Coast Lightning. Magpies Netball and Adelaide Thunderbirds follow with two points apiece, while West Coast Fever is bottom of the eigh-team table without a point. (NS)