Manchester Thunder and Team Bath also win on busy day
Monday 13 March 2017 14:55, UK
Loughborough Lightning maintained their 100 per cent record and ended Wasps own perfect start with a 57-44 victory on Saturday evening.
Having also ended Team Bath's perfect start last week, Karen Atkinson's team were at it again to halt Wasps fantastic start to life as a Superleague franchise.
Lightning keep pace with the defending champions at the top of the table after Surrey Storm also made it four wins from four games with victory at London Live, beating Hertfordshire Mavericks 67-45 at the Copper Box.
Also victorious on Saturday were Manchester Thunder, last year's runners-up picking up a second win over the season and condemning Celtic Dragons to their fourth defeat, while Bath recovered from their only defeat so far to sink the Severn Stars 48-39.
Lightning made a fast start and left Wasps with too much to do from the outset and coupled with a below-par shooting night for the hosts, it was Loughborough who stayed unbeaten.
In contrast to the home team, Lightning's Peace Proscovia was her usual consistent self, helping the visitors open up an early six-goal advantage.
Wasps cut the lead to four by half-time and threatened to level in the third quarter but more missed opportunities meant it was Loughborough who defended an eight-goal lead heading into the final 15 minutes.
And with Wasps looking to force the issue, Loughborough punished every mistake with superb play through the court as well as decisive finishing, which paved the way for a 13-goal victory.
Manchester Thunder made it back-to-back wins, withstanding a third-quarter fightback from Celtic Dragons, to record a 62-53 victory at the Thunderdome.
Karen Greig's team lost their opening two games - against the current top two Loughborough and Surrey - but bounced back well to sink the Sirens last week.
And they made it two home wins on the bounce by seeing off the spirited Dragons in a keenly contested affair.
Thunder grabbed a six-goal half-time lead but Dragons stormed back to level the scores midway through the third period. A six-goal run from the visitors prompted a reshuffle from the Thunder bench that reasserted control and ultimately paved the way for victory.
Saturday's fourth fixture saw Team Bath back to winning ways. Having lost to Loughborough last week, Bath were in derby action against the Severn Stars at University of Worcester Arena and responded with a third win of the season to stay in the play-off places.
However, Stars made them fight all the way, leading by two goals at half-time they looked on course for a second win of the season.
But Bath's experience turned the game on its head, and they rampaged their way to a 19-4 run in the third quarter that stunned the hosts as they claimed the three points with a 48-39 win.
Just one fixture remains with Team Northumbria hosting Sirens on Monday night chasing their first victory of the season.
You can follow the next Vitality Superleague clash between Team Northumbria and Manchester Thunder on Sky Sports Mix from 7.30pm on Monday March 20, and don't forget to catch all the action across our Sky Sports platforms. Follow us @SkyNetball
The regular season league home and away matches run from February to June, culminating in semi-finals and a Grand Final to determine the league champion.
