Manchester Thunder were ruthless in dispatching Celtic Dragons to record a stunning 38-78 victory in Cardiff.
The hosts had no answer to Thunder’s tenacity and hustle, as the Black and Yellows controlled the game from the first whistle and recorded their biggest win of the season.
Coach Karen Greig was ‘really pleased’ with her side’s performance.
“Coming into this, we knew it was a game we could win and one where we could get a high score,” she said
“Looking at the league, that’s what we needed. I’m happy and relieved.
“We said this week was all about us and what we do well as a team, and execute our game well and that was to start hard. We did that in the first quarter and that is the most polished first quarter we’ve had all season.”
Thunder’s dominance allowed Greig to play 12 of her squad, and she was so impressed with her players, she named all of them as her Player of the Match.
Greig added: “We said this week was all about us and what we do well as a team, and execute our game well and that was to start hard. We did that in the first quarter and that is the most polished first quarter we’ve had all season.
“Ultimately I want to play every player in every game. I want 12 players I know that I can put on court at any point that are going to do me a job.
“We tried different combination in every quarter and they all had their sticky moments but generally every quarter was consistently good.”
Thunder were the ones who came out breathing fire in the first half, as they steamed into a a 0-6 lead in the opening exchanges.
They were relentless with their pressure and tempo from the outset, forcing their opponents into mistakes and had raced into a 19-42 lead by half time.
The Black and Yellows were fluid in attack and stubborn in defence and although a dogged Dragons huffed and puffed, they were unable to contain Thunder, who ran out 38-78 winners.
For a tweet-by-tweet rundown of how the match unfolded, click here
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Manchester Thunder starting 7: GK Almond, GD Dovey, WD Skingsley, C O’Hanlon, WA Leota, GA Turner, GS Mvula
Quarter-time scores:
Q1: 10-19
HT: 19-42
Q3: 29-59
FT: 38-68