The NSW Swifts have kept their Suncorp Super Netball Finals hopes alive with an impressive 70-56 Round 9 win over the Sunshine Coast Lightning at Ken Rosewall Arena on Saturday.
Buoyed by the return of inspirational Club champion Paige Hadley, who took the court just 74 days after welcoming her first child to the world, the Swifts put in a stunning second half effort to pull away from the Queenslanders and breathe life in their campaign.
Twenty-nine gains and a conversation rate of 80 percent was what won this game for the seven-time Premiers. On the wrong side of a host of tight games already this season, on this occasion the Swifts made the most of their opportunities to register their biggest win of the year so far.
With a 3-6 record, they will need to keep winning to stay in the race for the playoffs but they are now well in the running for the fourth and last Finals spot.
Swifts champion defender Sarah Klau played her 150th National League Game and was a towering presence all night alongside her long-time partner in crime Maddy Turner.
Grace Nweke was shot at an impressive 94 percent while her partner in the goal circle Grace Whyte took home the match MVP award.
In the midcourt Maddy Proud was as relentless as ever with Tayla Fraser and Sharni Lambden also putting in big minutes to keep the attack humming all night.
Ahead of Mother’s Day, Hadley proved to be the story of the night with Turner praising the Diamonds midcourter for her quick return to the court.
"A lot of people are like 'Oh, she's come back so quick', but she probably did more pre-season sessions than some of us," Turner told Fox Sports.
"She's definitely put in the work. She had this dream and spoke about it, and made it happen, and I'm so proud of her."
The Swifts won three of four quarters, with the second drawn between the sides. At halftime the contest was finely poised with only a goal separating the teams, however, a dominant 36-23 second half in favour of the hosts put them in firm control of a game that looked like it would go right down to the wire early on.
For the Lightning Donnell Wallam, playing her 50th Super Netball game, shot at 98 percent but she wasn’t getting the volume of possession to keep pace with the Swifts in the final 30.
