Super Netball Round 11 results: Melbourne Vixens 68-65 winners over Sunsine Coast Lightning

Kiera Austin has inspired Melbourne Vixens to a crucial victory over Sunshine Coast Lightning which could have a huge impact on the finals fate of both teams.

A week after taking the Swifts by surprise a clinical Vixens downed Sunshine Coast Lightning 68-65 to surge into third place on the Super Netball ladder.

It was touted as the game of the round with both teams sitting on 24 points — sitting fourth and third on the ladder.

A final quarter comeback from Lighting shrunk Vixens’ dominant 10 goal lead drastically but it was just too little too late to take the victory off them.

Vixens goaler Kiera Austin was instrumental to the victory with crucial intercepts, pressure leading to turnovers and a new perfect night under the post.

Austin, named player of the match, sunk 23 from her 27 shots.

“After the first quarter we really adjusted how we were playing and we built a really good lead,” Austin said post match.

Read it like a book 👀
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— Suncorp Super Netball (@SuperNetball) June 21, 2025

“We were pretty disappointed in that last little bit there, they are a very classy team so I’m not surprised that they came back at us there.”

It was the Vixens fifth win of the season – their last loss was against the Lightning.

“Last game against Lightning we were really poor, it was super disappointing, “ McKinnis said.

McKinnis said she had put a lot of focus on empowering the team to create their own success.

“There is a just a freedom about what they are doing,” she said post-match.

Ashleigh Ervin of the Lightning and Kiera Austin of the Vixens challenge for the ball.

The coach had plenty of praise for Austin as well.

“She has been building and building over the last few weeks, she is just getting better and better,” McKinnis said.

After a slow start Vixens put on a hard to fault performance in the second quarter – outshooting Lightning 21-11.

Vixens were quicker with the ball and Lightning’s defensive end, usually a huge strength, lacked cohesion.

The Melbourne outfit were quick to notice the disconnect between Courtney Bruce and Tara Hinchliffe and surged ahead as the home side crumbled.

Steph Fretwell lines up a shot.

Lightning’s shooters certainly weren’t to blame – Reilley Batcheldor shot 18/18 and Steph Fretwell netting 9/10.

Mistakes in the midcourt and defensive errors meant the shooting duo just didn’t get their hands on the ball enough in the second quarter to keep pace with Vixens.

Lightning coach Belinda Reynolds turned to the bench for answers in the third quarter – swapping Tara Hinchliffe out for Ash Ervin. Batcheldor and Fretwell also swapped bibs.

It delivered some results – slowing the scoring rate slightly but Vixens still took a 10 goal lead into the final break.

Desperate to get back in the game Reynolds once again turned to the bench in the final quarter pulling off Bruce and centre Leesa MiMi – bringing Hinchliffe back on, putting Kristiana Manu’a in wing defence and moving Mahalia Cassidy to centre.

The quarter started goal for goal with Lightning managing to snag a few turnovers and convert the chances.

A flurry of super shots in the dying minutes of the game helped make a dent on the lead but trying to clinch back 10 goals in five minutes was always going to be a tough task. Lightning took the final quarter 21-14 but it was just too little too late.

BURSTING WITH CONFIDENCE

While the court was packed with current and past Diamonds players one rising star was hard to miss.

Batcheldor, 22, was called into the starting side to replace Cara Koenen, who was out with a foot injury.

Known for her long range shooting ability Batcheldor didn’t miss a shot in the opening half. She was full of confidence and worked the circle seamlessly with Fretwell.

Not even making the move from shooter to goal attack in the third quarter proved an issue for Batcheldor.

She was super calm and had no issue dealing with the immense pressure put on by Vixens defenders Rudi Ellis and Jo Weston.

Batcheldor dropped a few shots in the final quarter as the pressure was on, especially in the final five minutes and the need for super shots – but it hardly erased her impressive efforts for the other 55 minutes she was on the court.

Kate Moloney assesses her options.

RACE TO FINALS

There are just three rounds to go in the season and Lightning, now sitting fourth, have a very tough run to the finish line.

Lightning, now on a two-game losing streak, will have to fight off Fever, Swifts and Thunderbirds, if they want to ensure they are playing finals netball this season.

It won’t be easy – Lightning lost to all three teams when they met earlier in the season.

With Thunderbirds closing in on them any dropped points could give them a chance to leapfrog them and take the last spot in the finals series.

Vixens’ run home isn’t too much easier with Thunderbirds, Firebirds and Fever in their path.

But the Melbourne teams’ win over Lightning gives them a bit of extra cushioning.

FEVER STAR STRENGTHENS DIAMONDS CASE IN CRUCIAL WIN

— Katrina Nissen

West Coast Fever’s challenge for the minor premiership continues after crushing the finals hopes of the Adelaide Thunderbirds.

The 68-63 match, in front of a voracious Perth crowd, is Fever’s ninth win on the trot and has rocketed them up the ladder to second spot.

It also equalled the record for winning the most consecutive Super Netball games.

Despite the victory, the close scoreline did little to improve Fever’s goal percentage which is all that is standing between them and the top spot.

The Adelaide Thunderbirds will now need to rely on other results to stoke their dying hopes of limping into fourth position and a third consecutive tilt at the title.

As predicted, war was waged at each end of the court as the teams’ respective Jamaicans battled for supremacy.

Alice Teague-Neeld of the Fever looks to pass.

For the Fever, goal shoot Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and defender Kadie-Ann Dehaney had near instantaneous impact.

Dehaney, who is in career best form, got hand to ball early and had national teammate Romelda Aiken-George looking uncomfortable on the shot.

Two early misses, and a few retaliatory elbows signalled the frustration from Aiken-George who eventually steadied her emotions to net 41/47.

Speaking about Aiken-George’s overall performance, Thunderbirds coach Tania Obst praised her leadership: “She is such a target for us. Loz [Lauren Frew] is learning so much from her. I think she enjoys the battle against her fellow Jamaicans and she was a real competitor again tonight for us.”

As Fowler-Nembhard continued to dominate, off the back of great ball service from match MVP Alice Teague-Neeld, Thunderbirds’s coach Tania Obst constantly rotated her troops in search of a winning formula. Latanya Wilson, who collected eight gains last week, was a menacing presence but could only finish with two gains for her side.

Romelda Aiken-George receives a pass.

Sensing the Thunderbirds were building momentum off the back of Lauren Frew’s supershot ability, Fever rang in the changes adding more defence to the middle. It did little to slow the visitors as they won the third 19-15, locking the scores at 51-a-piece heading into the final term.

With the Thunderbirds battling to return to the top four, and Fever looking tired after four of their past five matches on the road, both sides fought desperately for every pass in a torrid final quarter battle. As Fever pushed the scoreline out, Frew’s earlier hot hand went cold, allowing the home side to run home five goal winners.

Back to back Suncorp Super Shots from Lauren Frew keeps the Thunderbirds within touching distance!

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— Suncorp Super Netball (@SuperNetball) June 20, 2025

Fever coach Dan Ryan said he thought his side was gone heading into the final term.

“It was a battle and a half. They never really let us get into any flow or gear. At times we were our worst nightmare. Then it quickly turned. It was all over the shop,” he said.

DOGGED DEFENCE

Thunderbirds defender Latanya Wilson is well and truly stepping out of Shamera Sterling-Humphrey’s shadow. The Jamaican duo has ruled the defensive stats for a number of years but with Sterling-Humphrey now on maternity leave, Wilson is proving that she is just as formidable on her own. The 188cm defender leads the league in deflections (with 69 - 14 ahead of the second place holder) and intercepts (28 - ahead by 11). Her turnovers are also impressively low (eight) for someone who has played all but three minutes of the season so far.

AIRTIME 🦅

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— Suncorp Super Netball (@SuperNetball) June 20, 2025

DIAMONDS WATCH

Fever’s Alice Teague-Neeld has been in sparkling form this season. The 28-year-old leads the league for goal assists (with 211, four more than Diamonds captain Liz Watson) and is second place, behind Watson, for feeds (331) and centre pass receives (203). She was in similarly great form last season and was an invitee to the end-of-year Diamonds camp. Surely, with two years of consistently reliable form, she would again be on the selectors’ radars.

Fever fans celebrate.

A VIEW FOR WOMEN’S SPORT

Netball Australia and Whoopi Goldberg’s All Women’s Sport Network (AWSN) have entered into a multi-year deal to bring Suncorp Super Netball into 900 million homes worldwide. The partnership will see 41 matches (including finals) made available to AWSN audiences through to the end of 2027.

Originally published as Super Netball Round 11 results: Melbourne Vixens 68-65 winners over Sunsine Coast Lightning