Severn Stars aiming for improved showing to finish Superleague season on a high

Laura Malcolm says Severn Stars have set themselves a target of improving on last season's eighth-placed finish as they head into the second half of the season.

Stars were one of three new franchises who entered in the league in 2017 and finished with five victories and plenty of positives despite failing to challenge for the play-offs.

A new-look team in 2018 have taken their time to gel but have racked up three wins from their 11 games so far and currently sit seventh in the table.

The end-of-season semi-finals look beyond them but the top five is still within reach and captain Malcolm has set the team their target over the final seven games.

"We want to end the season strong and have always been aiming for a better finish than last year," she said.

"We want to push for back-to-back wins and to put right some wrongs from the first half of the season. The team is in good spirits at the moment and we have built a lot in terms of culture and identity from last season.

"It's not easy to deal with losses, but we have been relentless with our analysis and it feels good knowing that this team doesn't have a defeated attitude, but is always striving for more."

Stars chalked up a hugely impressive victory over Mavericks last week and will be looking for another scalp from the big guns when they face Malcolm's former team Manchester Thunder this weekend.

Thunder won the first meeting between the teams earlier this year thanks to a goal in the final seconds and Malcolm knows it will be a tough test.

"They are very well drilled and an extremely experienced team," she added.

"We have to hit the ground running in this game and stay consistent throughout if we want to compete. It was great to get the win against Mavericks especially after such a heavy defeat against them the first time round.

"It is a confidence boost and it would have been tough going up against another big team if we were coming from a loss.

"You don't get given anything in this league and each team has a different style so you have to approach each game with a fresh mindset and a new focus and that's exactly what we have done this week."

Our live coverage of the Superleague continues next Monday when Team Bath host Team Northumbria from 6.45pm on Sky Sports Action & Sky Sports Mix, channel 121, which is free for all Sky customers.

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