Tara Murray
The Western Warriors put a couple of disappointing weeks behind them to get back on the winners list on Sunday in the Victorian Netball League championship.
After giving up some big leads in recent games and then falling just short, the Warriors were focused on keeping the momentum going against Melbourne University Lightning.
The Warriors led for much of the match on the way to a 61-51 win.
Warriors coach Kim Bailey was relieved to see them put it all together again.
“The last couple of weeks have been so disappointing, as we’ve been so close to getting over the edge,” she said.
“To get a nice comfortable win, it’s a bit of a relief with a couple of hard weeks ahead for us.
“Hopefully it can translate into the Hawks game.”
Bailey said they had one small lapse in the second quarter when they led by six and let the Lightning back in, but they were able to respond.
She said they really spoke about keeping momentum during the week and how they can’t let teams break momentum when they have it.
“We have to work hard on that,” she said. “We can’t think that it’s over when we turn it over or give up a lead, we have to dig deep and support each other.”
Bailey said they had a number of standout contributors on the day with Jas Fraser named their player of the match.
Kim Borger finished with 41 goals.
“We only had Ruby Shannon for a half,” Bailey said. “We managed her load and was a real spark when we needed it.
“Her and Ness [Augustini] played well together. It’s taken a little while to learn to play together.
“We were able to give Julia [Woolley] a break and Akira McCormack did a great job.
“Jas Fraser was really brave in defence and she got some tips.”
After 19 rounds, the Warriors sit in ninth spot with six wins.
The Warriors under-23s lost to the Lightning, 62-48.
Bailey said they were happy with that performance.
“They were really good in the first half,” she said. “They were competitive and I don’t think the scoreboard reflected the match.
“Shaud Sasalu had a ripper of a game in defence and Tara O’Grady had a really good game in attack.”
The Warriors are back in action on Wednesday night against the Hawks.
With both Hawks sides inside the top four, Bailey said it would be a tough challenge.
