Nottingham Forest end London Pulse unbeaten start in Netball Super League
Nottingham Forest brought an end to London Pulse's unbeaten start to the season in Round 8 of the Netball Super League.
Forest now sit just three points outside the top four, behind London Mavericks who beat LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons 72-61 after extra-time.
Loughborough Lightning beat Manchester Thunder 65-53 to move within two points of leaders Pulse, while Birmingham Panthers edged out NIC Leeds Rhinos 71-69 in extra-time.
Pulse felled by Forest
Nottingham Forest ended London Pulse's unbeaten streak with a brilliant 69-59 win over the league leaders in Round 8 of the Netball Super League.
An relatively even start to proceedings saw hosts Forest lead 36-31 at the break, with Rolene Streuker pouring in a healthy 18 goals to hand her side control of the match entering the interval.
Though Pulse had managed to keep it close in the first half, they could not match Forest's energy after the restart, with the hosts exploiting Streuker's deadeye prowess during the Soft and Gentle Super Shot, supported by Iona Christian's precise passing to pull away in the third quarter.
Though Pulse rallied back in the last 15 minutes, Forest held on to inflict a first defeat of the season on the capital-based side, with Christian named Kissimmee Player of the Match after an impressive 35 feeds, four pick ups and one gain.
Panthers break Rhinos hearts
Birmingham Panthers picked up their second win of the season after a thrilling 71-69 extra-time defeat of NIC Leeds Rhinos.
Panthers lost out to Rhinos in the season opener but exacted some revenge after little to separate both sets of teams in normal time.
The hosts led the match 59-57 with 30 seconds left on the clock but Rhinos' Joyce Mvula's steely shooting forced the match into extra-time.
Both sides had been evenly matched throughout the first four quarters and it was the same story in the extra period.
Rhinos had seemingly won it but a costly turnover led to Betsy Creak converting to tie the scores 69-69 before Gabby Sinclair sunk a Soft and Gentle Super Shot to clinch victory and move her side within two points of fifth-placed Nottingham Forest.
Lightning strike down Thunder
Second-placed Loughborough Lightning moved within two points off top spot with a 65-53 defeat of Manchester Thunder.
Lightning outgunned Thunder to lead 38-27 at the interval, with Samantha Wallace-Joseph leading the way after sinking five supershots.
There was more of the same in the second half as Thunder struggled to contain Lightning's sharpshooting, with Wallace-Joseph ending the game having scored 23, but it was former Thunder defender Shadine van der Merwe who proved the visitors' undoing thanks to her work rate and defensive know-how, earning Kissimmee Player of the Match honours.
The South African's influence was felt throughout the game as she halted her former side's attempts at building momentum.
Mavericks deny Dragons
London Mavericks defeated LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons 72-61 in the first game of the season to go to extra time.
With 60 minutes failing to separate both teams, the spoils went Mavericks' way as Dragons continue their search for a first win of the campaign.
Dragons led 29-24 after the opening half and extended their advantage to 10 points during the third quarter, only for Mavericks to level the scores entering the final 15 minutes.
Both teams continued to trade blows but the final whistle blew with the scores tied at 55-55 to incite extra time.
The added period saw Emma Thacker convert three successive Soft and Gentle Supershots to give Mavericks control of proceedings and the Londoners held on to claim all three points.
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