Following last Friday night’s match in Hull, another long haul trip for Mavericks this week saw them cross the Severn into Wales for their clash with Celtic Dragons in Cardiff last night.
The first quarter was littered with mistakes and unforced errors by both teams, and Mavericks defence of Josie Huckle and Lyndsay Keable found it difficult to combat the feed into Lottysha Cato who scored regularly through the quarter. Mavericks shooting circle of Vicklyn Joseph and Shaunagh Craig were given no room by the strong Dragons defence. Frantic play through the quarter and further missed opportunities allowed Dragons to build a lead of 15-7 at the end of the quarter.
Coach Karen Atkinson made a team change to the attack and brought on Alice Ewer for Shaunagh Craig, this seemed to settle the attack. Mavericks mid court of Sasha Corbin, Rose Morgan-Smith and Camilla Buchanan worked tirelessly throughout the quarter. An impressive jump by Sasha caught the crowd’s attention as she grasped the ball while spinning in mid-air. She was particularly alert during this quarter and set up several scoring opportunities for the Mavericks who took the second quarter 10-9, to reduce the deficit at half time to 24-17.
A further change to the shooting circle saw Steffi Burt replace Vicklyn at gaol shooter and the game was launched into its third quarter by a succession of swift passes by Mavericks, with no player letting any balls go without a fight. Alice shot a great long-distance goal and followed it with another classy score to put the Dragons under pressure as Mavericks fought back to take the score to 24-20. Mavericks were unable to sustain this pressure and Dragons were allowed to increase the goal difference again. The see-saw style of the match continued as Mavericks pulled back to within six, only for Cato to again to dash their hopes with a late score to pull Dragons to 36-28 clear going into the final quarter.
The intensity of the game continued into the fourth quarter with both teams fighting for possession. In a contact between Josie Huckle and Cato, Huckle called time after being hurled to the floor and colliding with the post. The Mavericks defender showed her mental and physical resilience and she was soon up again and ready to re-enter the fray.
In the closing stages the Dragons maintained possession and Cato to score and move Dragons into a ten goal lead. Although the match was now beyond reach, Mavericks refused to lie down and were relentless particularly during the final minutes as they rewarded with two well worked goals to finish the game on a high, and ending the game with a score line of 48-39.
After this tough encounter Mavericks will now need to look forward and concentrate on their next game at home against Team Northumbria on Friday 10 February at the Sports Village in Hatfield.
