Fretwell the super shot star in lethal Lightning strike

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Fretwell the super shot star in lethal Lightning strike

A banged-up Courtney Bruce produced a stellar defensive effort and Steph Fretwell backed it up with a perfect shooting display as the Sunshine Coast Lightning defeated the Melbourne Mavericks 67-60.

Bruce crumpled to the floor in pain with a left ankle injury and could barely put weight on it as she limped off the court in the second quarter of Saturday’s Super Netball clash at UniSC Arena.

The Lightning led 24-15 at the time, but Bruce’s exit allowed the Mavericks to close the margin to four goals a few minutes later.

Bruce was able to return near the end of the quarter, with her presence proving crucial as the Lightning blew out the lead to as much as 18 goals in the third quarter, before holding off the Mavericks’ late fightback.

Lightning goal shooter Cara Koenen scored 45 goals from 51 attempts in a strong effort, but it was Fretwell who was the star in the big moments.

Fretwell nailed a perfect 7-of-7 super shots in a remarkable display, and also converted 7-of-7 from normal range on the way to 21 points for the match.

Star Mavericks shooter Shimona Jok finished with 41 goals from 42 attempts to go with two super shots, and Uneeq Palavi made 5-of-11 super shots, but it wasn’t enough.

The result improved the Lightning’s record to 5-3, while the Mavericks (2-6) face a monumental task to make the finals.

“Last week I wasn’t really happy with how I shot, probably been a bit dodgy for the past few weeks,” Fretwell told Fox Sports after the match.

“Shooting this week was a big part that I wanted to make sure I executed.”

The first quarter was a topsy-turvy affair, with the Lightning shooting out to a 7-2 lead, the Mavericks fighting back to level the scores, before Fretwell’s super shots gave the home side a 18-13 lead by the first break.

Bruce’s injury in the second quarter resulted in a momentum shift.

But when Bruce returned to the court and Fretwell nailed some more long-range bombs, the Lightning entered the halftime break with a 38-30 lead.

The third quarter was one-way traffic as the Mavericks’ scoring dried up and the Lightning went into overdrive, opening up a 57-41 lead by the final change.

The margin was whittled down to six goals with three-and-a-half minutes left, but the Lightning were able to hold firm from there.

“We are really good at coming from behind at the moment, it’s one of our strengths,” Mavericks centre Molly Jovic said.

“When we’ve got nothing to lose, we go for it, and we need to work out how to do that from the first quarter.”

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