Month: June 2021

Words By Kirralee Livingstone

USC Thunder had an electrifying win against Wildcats, smashing them 63-48 and winning three quarters in the Sapphire series match at Nissan Arena last Sunday.

Thunder started off the majority of the first quarter strong both defensively and through attack.

Chloe Bingham scored a double to start off the game, followed by a triple and then a few goals later and quadruple goal streak.

Binnian Hunt scored some goals of her own as well, and if it weren’t for Chloe Litherland’s many intercepts and defensive efforts, the shooting duo wouldn’t have scored as frequently as they did.

Bingham scored the first five goals for Thunder in the second quarter, followed by Hunt scoring the next three points.

There was some back and forth between the Wildcats scoring and Bingham scoring, applying pressure to Thunder, however they closed the second quarter leading 32-22, winning the quarter by only one point.

After Bingham scored 8 goals for Thunder in the third quarter, they gained a ten-point lead which was the largest margin of the game thus far.

Hunt and Bingham then went back-to-back scoring five goals between the two of them, then Bingham scoring the rest for the quarter, putting them in a 50-35 lead.

The last quarter of the game was a gritty one, with both teams scoring one or two at a time for most of the remainder of the game.

Bingham had an impressive shooting match, officially scoring fifty of the sixty-two points of the game for Thunder, which is not an easy achievement in the Sapphire Series to score a half century.

It also happened to be her last goal of the game, securing a well-deserved win for the talented USC Thunder side.

From this win, they have also risen themselves back to fourth place on the ladder, and with the finals four rounds away, it’s a great spot to be siting in the competition.

USC Thunder are set to play the first placed Cougars this Saturday at Nissan Arena.

Q1: USC Thunder 18-9 Wildcats

Q2: USC Thunder 32 (14) -22 (13) Wildcats

Q3: USC Thunder 50 (18) -35 (13) Wildcats

Q4: USC Thunder 63 (13) -48 (13) Wildcats

Thunder starting seven: GS-Chloe Bingham, GA-Binnian Hunt, WA- Chanel Dyer, C-Monique French, WD-Chloe Litherland, GD-Ashlee Barnett, GK-Sienna Allen

Substitutes: Georgia Hernan, Amy Metcalf and Jacqueline Dupuy

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Sapphire Series or its clubs

Words By Kirralee Livingstone

USC Thunder miss out on the win against USQ Jets, losing by 18 points in the Sapphire series match at Nissan Arena last Saturday.

Annie Lawrie scored the first point of the game, followed by a USQ goal and promptly a goal from Chloe Bingham.

Although Thunder started off strong, unfortunately the Jets had many consecutive goals for most of the first quarter, keeping Thunder at a low scoring rate.

Luckily, they fought back, allowing Annie to score some points and Chloe to get a hattrick along with some extra goals, bringing the margin to five behind Jets to end the first quarter.

Thunder had an inspiring comeback in the second quarter, with Chloe dominating in attack for the team, getting 12 of her 14 goal attempts.

With a few minutes left to go, Thunder led by two points with four minutes to go, and won the quarter, however trailed by one on the score board to close half time.

The third quarter slowed down dramatically for Thunder, only scoring 6 points, with constant interchanges between Annie and Georgia Hernan, who has been unable to play due to injury for the past few weeks.

In the final quarter there was increased momentum for the Thunder team, scoring a few more goals than the last quarter, but sadly fell short, unable to secure the win.

It was a gutsy game although the final score may suggest otherwise.

Thunder put in an admirable effort refusing to quit even in the dying seconds, battling against the Jets’ tough defence throughout the whole game.

Thunder is now in fifth place on the Sapphire series ladder, and are set to play the seventh placed Wildcats, this Sunday at 2pm at Nissan Arena.

Q1: USC Thunder 11– 16 USQ Jets

Q2: USC Thunder 26 (15)– 27 (11) USQ Jets

Q3: USC Thunder 32 (6)– (18) 45 USQ Jets

Q4: USC Thunder 42 (10)– (15) 60 USQ Jets

Thunder starting seven: GS-Chloe Bingham, GA-Annie Lawrie, WA- Amy Metcalf, C-Monique French, WD-Chloe Litherland, GD-Sienna Allen, GK-Ashlee Barnett

Substitutes: Georgia Hernan, Lily Mcclure, Brianna Martyn

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Sapphire Series or its clubs

Words By Kirralee Livingstone

Match report round 7 USC Thunder v Northern Mendi Rays

USC Thunder dominated a gruelling defensive encounter with the Northern Mendi Rays, winning 61-56 in the Sapphire Series match at Nissan Arena on Sunday.

Mendi Rays started off the game with three consecutive goals, however GS Chloe Bingham quickly shined, scoring two consecutive hattricks to push the Thunder to a six-point lead.

The second quarter was won by Mendi Rays by three but they still trailed [at half-time] by three thanks to eight goals by Chloe and five by GA Annie Lawrie.

Jacqueline Dupuy subbed in for GD Ashlee Barnett after two falls in the first and second quarter, giving her a short rest.

USC Thunder made some position changes at half time, moving Sienna Allen from GK to GD, Annie from GA to GS, and Jacqueline into GA, allowing Chloe to rest for the remainder of the game.

The second half was lower scoring for both sides, with USC Thunder winning both the third and fourth quarter by one point.

Annie was a stand out in the third and fourth quarters, scoring 13 out of 17 of the goals scored and 10 out of 13 respectively.

Mendi Rays did not make it easy for Thunder, creating a great contest and forcing Thunder to fight for the win.

This win in the Indigenous round keeps Thunder in fourth place on the Sapphire series ladder, with four wins and three losses at the halfway point of the season.

Next week they will be head-to-head with QUT Netball for the second time this season.

The match against third-placed QUT will take place at Nissan Arena at 3:00pm this Saturday.

Q1: USC Thunder 18-12 Mendi Rays

Q2: USC Thunder 31 (13)-28 (16) Mendi Rays

Q3: USC Thunder 48 (17)-44 (16) Mendi Rays

Q4: USC Thunder 61 (13)-56 (12) Mendi Rays

Thunder starting seven: GS-Chloe Bingham, GA-Annie Lawrie, WA-Chanel Dyer, C-Monique French, WD-Amy Metcalf, GD-Ashlee Barnett, GK-Sienna Allen

Substitutes: Jacqueline Dupuy, Sarah Harris, Lily Mcclure

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Sapphire Series or its clubs