UNBEATEN SWIFTS TAKE TOP SPOT

The NSW Swifts deflected a late scare to fend off the Melbourne Vixens 56-42 in the top of the table ANZ Championship clash in Sydney today.  
 
Cruising for much of the match, the Swifts remain the only unbeaten team after inflicting a second straight loss for the defending champions in front of a record crowd.  The Swifts let slip a 14-goal lead before reasserting their dominance in the final 10 minutes to eventually record a comfortable win by the same margin.
 
The Swifts made no race of the first quarter, settling into their work from the first whistle to chalk up the first four goals. The home team were precise with their ball transfer through court while both ends played prominent roles. Shooters Catherine Cox and Susan Pratley were on song from the outset while defenders Sonia Mkoloma and Rebecca Bulley made life difficult for the Vixens shooters.  Caitlin Thwaites, back for the Vixens after sitting out last week’s loss, had a quiet start and was well contained as Mkoloma and Bulley snapped up vital intercept and rebound ball.
 
Missing the influence of the injured Natasha Chokljat, the Vixens struggled with their flow through court as Cox and Pratley dominated their end to give the home team a perfect start. With their radars well-tuned, the pair returned a 100 percent success rate as the Swifts waltzed into the first break handily-placed with a 17-10 lead.
 
The Swifts continued in similar vein on the resumption, flying out to an 11-goal lead before they were stalled by the Vixens. Appearing flat and with little going right for them, the Vixens had some encouraging passages of play, usually inspired by Sharelle McMahon, to peg back the deficit.
 
But just when they looked threatening untimely errors would let them down. Lacking volume early on, the Vixens were able to improve the service to McMahon and Thwaites but they were not a patch on the Swifts' shooting duo who continued to rattle in the goals unabated at the other end.
 
Cox was in vintage form, showing quality movement and shooting accuracy to maintain her perfect record through the second stanza. Pratley was not far behind, missing just the one goal as the Swifts maintained their dominance to lead 29-21 at half-time.
 
Vixens defenders Bianca Chatfield and Julie Corletto turned up the heat to make the Swifts shooters work harder for their possession but Cox and Pratley remained unfazed. The pair’s accuracy rates gave the Vixens little to feed off but as the quarter wore on, the Swifts' intensity dropped away. The visitors battled gamely, working more purposefully on attack and picking up important scraps on defence as they reeled in the margin.
 
With McMahon leading the charge, the Vixens produced a huge swing in momentum with a stirring fightback. Uncharacteristically, the Swifts were knocked off their stride as they turned over a host of ball. The Vixens turned the match on its head after winning the quarter by seven goals to whittle the Swifts' margin to one as the home team headed into an exciting final quarter 38-37 ahead.
 
Despite losing the lead briefly, for the first time in the match, in the early stages of the last quarter, the Swifts regrouped to repel the late challenge after being so dominant for large chunks of the match.