Sunday 21 April 2019 20:17, UK
Wasps Netball, Loughborough Lightning, and Saracens Mavericks all recorded big wins in the Vitality Netball Superleague on Easter Sunday.
Back-to-back defending champions Wasps sealed their fifth consecutive win in a row, Lightning upset Manchester Thunder, and Saracens Mavericks secured a vital victory over Team Bath as a bumper Easter weekend of netball came to an enthralling conclusion.
Victory for Wasps helped them secure a third successive trip to the semi-finals after claiming a big 64-48 victory over Celtic Dragons.
In the final match of Round 16, Mavs held off five-time winners Bath to win 51-45 in a fast and furious clash at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
Mavs knew they had to win the match to stand any chance of making the end-of-season play-offs with two games of the regular season remaining, and they produced the goods in a high-octane meeting to stay in the hunt.
The opening 15 minutes were intense, and, at 12-12, there was nothing to separate the sides. Mavs' Sasha Corbin and Bath's Sophie Drakeford-Lewis excelled in a physical battle in which both defences were dominating, but Mavericks managed to open a slender 24-22 lead at half-time.
There were still two goals in it as they headed into the final 15 minutes, before player-of-the-match Michelle Drayne, Razia Quashie, Georgina Fisher, and Karyn Bailey piled on the pressure over Bath to win by six goals.
They now take on Severn Stars - live on Sky Sports - before ending their campaign against Strathclyde Sirens needing to win both matches and hoping the teams just above them, Lightning or Bath, slip up.
Severn Stars edged out Surrey Storm after a thrilling conclusion to the contest to win 51-46, moving level with their opponents in sixth spot.
Both teams suffered Easter Saturday defeats, but it was Stars who bounced back from their loss against Team Bath to come good in the final quarter as player-of-the-match and potential England prospect Sam Cook inspired the Worcestershire side to victory.
"We gifted them some really easy possession through individual errors at crucial times," Storm head coach Mikki Austin told Sky Sports. "We want to be top four contenders, but if we can't execute at crucial times, there's not a lot I can do."
Glasgow's Emirates Arena played host to another cracking contest as Loughborough Lightning defeated Manchester Thunder 60-57 in a crucial contest between two teams in the top four.
Lightning upped their levels to boost their hopes of landing a semi-final spot, while Thunder were unable to secure their play-off place as they continue to chase a first Superleague title since 2014.
In the battle between the league's bottom two sides, Strathclyde Sirens secured a tight 47-44 win over London Pulse to seal a double over their opponents, who are now rooted firmly to the foot of the table on three points.
The Vitality Superleague continues on Sky Sports on Saturday, April 27, when Saracens Mavericks take on Severn Stars from 3.45pm on Sky Sports Mix with just two rounds of the season to go before the Play-Offs on Saturday, May 11.
