Loughborough Lightning are still languishing in the basement of the Co-operative Superleague after falling to Northern Thunder.
Northern Thunder make strong start to see off Loughborough
Loughborough Lightning are still languishing in the basement of the Co-operative Netball Superleague standings after falling 47-39 to Northern Thunder at home.
Thunder, who dominated in the opening half, are now fourth in the table as they seek a big finish to their league campaign.
The Loughborough University clash saw the visitors win the first two quarters before Lightning staged a comeback that did not quite make the grade in the second half.
The home side delivered more accurate shooting, with Jo Harten posting another 'captain's innings', missing just once in the first half.
But it was the visitors who ultimately prevailed, doing enough early on to lay the foundations for their victory.
Commanding
Thunder's centre trio were the commanding force, turning over another high-quality performance that left Lightning struggling to reply.
Despite the victory, Thunder head coach Rose Port believes the match could have easily gone either way.
"Thunder experience and accurate shooting saw them pull away from Lightning," said Port.
"But with (Layla) Guscoth, (Kara) Luck and (Talissa) Haynes persistent defending, Lightning hung on.
"(Lightning coach Olivia) Murphy made key changes in her attacking line-up which paid dividends, a few key interceptions and excellent goals raised Lightning confidence enough to rattle the opposition.
"Thunder made some costly mistakes as Lightning continued to apply pressure, but Thunder's earlier lead held them in good stead, winning 47-39."
