Storm steal points in Bath
16 March 2012
Surrey Storm got off to a dominant start in Phase 2 of the Fiat Netball Superleague with a solid 66-45 win over TeamBath in front of a slightly tamer crowd at the Sports Training Village in Bath.
The opening few minutes saw Storm take a 3 goal lead but not without some sloppy passages of play from both teams. As Storm continued to turn ball over all over the court they struggled with their usual slick finish into Dunn and Cookey with the final ball into the circle going astray several times. At the other end Bath were forced to work hard for every ball with impressive defence from the Storm back 4 it took the home side 4 minutes before they scored their first goal. As the quarter went on, flying intercepts from WD Natalie Seaton and a better connection in attack saw Storm take the first quarter 18-5.
The second quarter saw Bath make some changes, with Kadeen Corbin and Asha Francis switching from GS to GA and Scarlett Williams coming on at WD. The changes seemed to make impact straight away. Two missed shots from the Storm super shooter Dunn gave Bath the opportunity to get on a roll and with a slicker attacking combination they began to claw the lead back. The Storm attack end were having to work harder and took several minutes to settle. The home side managed to get back within 8 when player coach Greenway went down with an achillies problem.
After the time out Storm came out fighting and got their flow back. They began shutting down the Bath circle and became more patient in their own attack end, which eventually saw them take the quarter by 1 and lead 33-19 at half time.
The third quarter saw further changes for Bath with Captain Francis being moved for the 3rd time during the game to WA and Kat Haynes coming on at GS, where as Storm remained unchanged. However this time the changes made little difference and Storm kept powering on. There were still inconsistencies in the Storm attacking third with some loose passes and stilted movement due to a tough Bath defence. However they were given plenty of opportunities to get it right as Storm continued to turnover ball throughout the court, with clean intercepts and 3 second calls. The end of the quarter Storm extended the lead to a comfortable 47-32.
The final quarter nearly saw Dunn removed from the court for some bib removal confusion, while Kat Ainsworth and Stef Bello made appearances to replace the impressive combination of Seaton and Trippick. The fresh legs in defence worked tirelessly to start creating chances at the back, which saw Holland and Reid really come into their own. They shut down ball, pounced on rebounds and made life really difficult for the Bath circle attack. Dunn and Cookey thrived on the amount ball being provided and after Ainsworth had settled in she began to feed effortlessly into the circle. With 5 minutes left Storm had put 60 goals on the board and continued to push on. With one final throw of the game Greenways long pass found Dunn who fumbled to Cookey to see her long range shot swish through the net to finish victorious 66-45.
Player Coach Tamsin Greenway was pleased with her sides victory but said they were still things that were far from perfect: ‘I think what was so pleasing was to see the things we’re doing at practice put in to the game, I thought defensively all over the court we were impressive and we had several moments of class in attack . Although we pushed on this time and finished strong I was still disappointed with our 2nd quarter. We have to respond quickly to changes if we are serious about where we’re going and players need to take responsibility of this, but still what a fantastic way to start phase 2.”
Surrey Storm are on the road again next Friday (23rd) as they take on the Hertfordshire Mavericks. The girls will return to Surrey Sports Park for the sell-out fixture against Northern Thunder on Monday 2nd April.
Match shooting stats:
Surrey Storm
Rachel Dunn: 46/55 75%
Pamela Cookey: 20/44 83%
Team Bath
Kadeen Corbin: 33/44 75%
Asha Francis: 4/7 57%
Kat Hayes 8/11 72%
Storm starting line-up:
GK – Reid
GD – Holland
WD – Seaton
C – Trippick (capt)
WA – Greenway
GA – Cookey
GS – Dunn
Subs: Ainsworth, Bello, Modeste, McHale, Betsy
Team Bath starting line-up:
GK – Sam Cook
GD – Gemma Fletcher
WD – Becky Watkins
C – Mia Ritchie
WA – Amanda Trounce
GA – Asha Francis (capt)
GS – Kadeen Corbin
Subs: Chantelle Wopara, Kate McGinley, Millie Grey, Scarlett Williams, Kat Hayes
