England developed a 32-22 half-time lead but then lost the third quarter; Jess Thirlby made personnel changes for the final 15 minutes and the head coach described her more senior players' performance in it as "classy" to ensure the team prevailed 64-51 on court in London
Sunday 9 October 2022 21:04, UK
England's Vitality Roses won the third Test against Uganda 64-51 at the Copper Box Arena to secure a clean sweep of victories in the series.
The Vitality Roses led 32-22 at half-time before losing the third quarter and needed to reset going into the final set of 15 minutes.
Chelsea Pitman's arrival in attack enabled England to settle again and a 19-11 final quarter ensured they ended the home series on a high note.
Jess Thirlby's team will now turn their attentions on a three-Test series against the Commonwealth Games champions and world No 1 side Australia, at the end of the month.
"We had a different line-up to start the game, built a lead by half-time and had to fight a little bit in the third quarter. The senior group really asserted themselves in the fourth quarter," said England head coach Thirlby.
"It was a really classy finish and I'm really pleased because I don't think that it was a given that we would necessarily win by a bigger margin."
England sealed the series with a second-Test victory on Saturday afternoon and both head coaches decided to make personnel changes for this final match.
Thirlby handed first international starts to three of her youngest players in the form of Olivia Tchine, Zara Everitt and Funmi Fadoju.
Uganda's head coach Fred Mugerwa switched things up at both ends of the court. His wing attack for the first two Tests, Irene Eyaru, moved in a position to start at goal attack and Shakira Nakanyike took the reins on the circle edge.
In defence, Rosette Namutebi arrived at wing defence and Falidah Kadondi took the place of Proscovia Peace at goal keeper.
The She Cranes started positively and pressed 4-1 up before England were set back on the right path by energy-lifting turnovers from Fadoju. Co-captain Malcolm also stepped up in defence, while Tchine and Eleanor Cardwell were accurate under the post.
Thirlby's outfit maintained their momentum for the rest of the opening quarter and right the way through the second set of 15 minutes too. Uganda, who had restored their more tried and tested seven for the second quarter, faded physically during it and England capitalised upon their unforced errors.
With a 32-22 half-time lead, Thirlby switched Fran Williams back to goal keeper to mark her Loughborough Lightning team-mate Mary Cholhok and moved Fadoju out.
Unlike during the first and second Tests, England didn't move the game on during the third quarter and instead Uganda grew in confidence, played patient netball and hit back during the final stages of it.
The She Cranes went through to goal at a rapid rate by using Cholhok's height in the circle and late English errors on the final feed in attack helped draw the match back to within five goals.
At three-quarter time, Thirlby turned to her bench for the last time in the series to try and change the course of the match.
After co-captain Malcolm again lifted the home side in the first moments of the quarter by forcing an error in mid-court, further up court England settled well due to Pitman's presence.
Pitman brought composure into England's attacking goal third; the 40-cap international looked straight in when she needed to and also had the confidence to reset and go again.
Fresh on at goal keeper, Alice Harvey restored a productive defensive partnership with her Superleague team-mate Williams and England used the final 15 minutes to bring the home crowd to their feet and take a good momentum into their Australian series later this month.
