Loughborough Lightning defeat Wasps Netball at Ricoh Arena

In-form Loughborough Lightning ended Wasps' unbeaten start to the Vitality Superleague Netball season with a stunning 60-47 win at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday.

Wasps, who lifted the Grand Final trophy last season beating Lightning in the final, have been sitting pretty at the top of the Superleague table, but Loughborough produced a magnificent display to move just three points behind their Midlands rivals.

Having dispatched Celtic Dragons and UWS Sirens on the road last week, Lightning were helped by the ever-reliable Peace Proscovia on their way to victory which keeps them on course for a top-four spot and a place in the Play-Offs.

We have some key games coming up that we need to perform in but this win puts us in a great position to secure that top four spot.

"The girls played really well today, they dug in for each other and I'm really proud of their performance," said Lightning head coach Anna Carter. "It was a game that we wanted to win as Wasps are top of the table and beating them is something that nobody else has achieved so far this season.

"We have some key games coming up that we need to perform in but this win puts us in a great position to secure that top four spot."

Player of the Match, Proscovia, added: "I am amazed with our performance tonight. Wasps came in strong and we both wanted the win, but our hard work paid off this evening.

"We really needed this win tonight to help put us in a comfortable position for playoffs, however the battle is not yet over, we need to continue to keep working hard until the final."

Wasps head coach Tamsin Greenway conceded her side were second best but thinks the defeat could be a blessing in disguise.

"We deserved to lose - we weren't good enough all over the court and we know that but Loughborough were really solid and they set the tone," she said. "It was a low-scoring game for us as well so we need to have a look at the errors that we made.

"When you've gone unbeaten for so long it's almost nice to know where your weaknesses are and I think we highlighted that tonight. I think we were outmuscled in every area of the game and it's a real cliché to say they were more up for it but I think they were better prepared and were contesting more things.

"It was one of those games where every loose ball dropped to Loughborough but they thoroughly deserved to win.

"We've still got a game in hand and the reality is we only need to secure a couple more wins to get into the top four. If we have to lose a couple of games - and bearing in mind we lost a lot more games last season and went on to win the play-offs - then I can cope with that."

In other results, Manchester Thunder hammered Celtic Dragons 78-38, UWS Sirens edged out Team Bath 51-43 to move off the bottom of the table, and benecosMavericks beat Team Northumbria 59-40.

Our live coverage of Monday's clash between Surrey Storm v Severn Stars gets underway from 6.30pm on Sky Sports Action, Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Mix, channel 121, which is free for all Sky customers.

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