Adelaide Thunderbirds belted by Sunshine Coast Lightning in Super Netball final round
ADELAIDE Thunderbirds have finished their Super Netball campaign with a poor performance against Sunshine Coast Lightning.
ADELAIDE Thunderbirds have ended their season with a 37-58 thumping from minor premiers Sunshine Coast Lightning in Queensland on Saturday night.
Incredibly, the Thunderbirds won the first quarter 15-11, only to add just 22 goals for the rest of the game.
In contrast to the poor opening against Giants Netball the previous week, the Thunderbirds were on fire in the first quarter and challenged the powerful Lightning with an impressive brand of netball.
The defensive circle combination of Shamera Sterling and Kate Shimmin gave the Lightning attack end headaches and secured a string of turnovers.
At the other end of the court, Maria Folau was on target to have a massive influence in the Thunderbirds stunning the home side.
But the second period was ugly for the visitors, coughing up numerous turnovers. And they were punished on the scoreboard with the Lightning winning the second period by a commanding six goals.
It prompted bulk changes to the line-up with Kate Shimmin and captain Chelsea Pitman being benched, Kelly Altmann being introduced at centre to accommodate the move of Hannah Petty to wing attack and Shadine Van Der Merwe returning at goal defence.
If the second quarter was bad for the Thunderbirds, it got even worse in the third when they were completely outplayed in losing the period 8-18.
The Lightning started the quarter with a 7-0 run to take the game away from the Thunderbirds.