Super Netball: Sunshine Coast Lightning stun Melbourne Vixens in ‘upset of the season’

In a result no one saw coming, the Sunshine Coast Lightning produced a huge upset to cause a boilover in the Super Netball.

The Sunshine Coast Lightning have defeated the Melbourne Vixens to pull off the upset of the Super Netball season on Saturday night.

The Vixens were expected to keep their undefeated record in tact but the Lightning broke their four-game winning streak with a stunning 71-58 win at USC Stadium.

Watch Suncorp Super Netball on Kayo. Every game of every round LIVE. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free now >

The Lightning and Vixens went back and forth in the early stages before the Lightning pulled away.

The Lightning’s defence was excellent as they managed to shut down star Vixens midcourter Liz Watson and get plenty of turnovers.

Captain Steph Wood missed the first few games with a knee injury and she showed what the Lightning had been missing with a scintillating performance at goal attack that will put her name up in lights for Commonwealth Games selection.

Buzzing around the shooting circle, Wood worked superbly in tandem with goal shooter Cara Koenen, who finished with a dominant 46/50 shots at 92 per cent accuracy.

Steph Wood was on fire for the Lightning. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

“Wood and Conan have been back to their best as a combination,” former Australian Diamond Madi Browne said on Fox Netball.

“We hadn’t seen it yet in 2022 but when they are on, they are so hard to beat.”

It was the Lightning’s highest points tally of the season as they showed glimpses of the form that took them to back-to-back Super Netball titles in 2017 and 2018.

Fox Netball commentator Ben Homer said: “It’s the upset of the season to date.

“The bottom-placed Sunshine Coast Lightning coming into this one, have beaten the previously undefeated Melbourne Vixens. It’s a stunning win.”

The Lightning pulled off the upset of the season. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Netball journalist Erin Delahunty tweeted: “What a boilover.”

Coach Kylee Byrne didn’t make a single change throughout the game as the starting seven played out the entire 60 minutes.

Browne said: “An outstanding performance, they settled their line-up, they had it from all angles. A wonderful team performance by the Lightning.”

The victory, the Lightning’s second of the season, lifts them off the bottom of the ladder and they will be hoping it provides a springboard for a charge towards the top four.

Originally published as Super Netball: Sunshine Coast Lightning stun Melbourne Vixens in ‘upset of the season’