Super-shooter's 71 goals as Fever end Swifts' streak
The great Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard has scored 71 goals as the West Coast Fever ended the NSW Swifts' unbeaten start to the Super Netball season with an impressive 79-68 win at Ken Rosewall Arena.
In a heavyweight blockbuster between the competition's two best teams, the Fever (7-2) started quickly and finished with a flourish, extending their winning streak to seven and ending the Swifts' eight-game unbeaten run in 2025.
Remarkably, NSW have never tasted victory against West Coast at their Sydney home base, a trend that continued on Saturday night.
Unbeaten no more. Fever too strong in Sydney 💥 pic.twitter.com/lGWoGkWFD3
— Suncorp Super Netball (@SuperNetball) June 7, 2025
"It's really good," said Fowler-Nembhard, the world's best shooter, who missed just one shot attempt all evening.
"I came up against some brilliant defenders.
"The Swifts are an incredible team and we couldn't come here and underestimate them."
At the other end, NSW shooter Grace Nweke racked up a whopping 13 rebounds to go with 48 goals at a less efficient 80 per cent.
After a goal-for-goal opening, the Fever created some separation through Fowler-Nembhard, who hit 21 in the opening stanza to give the visitors a 22-16 buffer at the first change.
Fowler-Nembhard's connection in attack with the likes of Alice Teague-Neeld, Jordan Cransberg and Shanice Beckford was a feature.
The home side rang in the changes in the second period, particularly in defence, as the contest became scrappier and more physical after opening in clean, clinical fashion.
Fowler-Nembhard had 37 by half-time, while Nweke was off-target in the Swifts' attack, hounded relentlessly by Kadie-Ann Dehaney.
West Coast held sway 39-32 at the main break before NSW lifted through co-captain Paige Hadley and goal attack Helen Housby.
Housby's sixth two-pointer trimmed the margin to three before Fowler-Nembard's second-chance goal put the Fever in front 59-55 with a quarter to play.
But the last term belonged emphatically to West Coast, who shot 20-of-20 to the Swifts' 11-of-19 to put the rest of the competition on notice.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Vaughan 'staggered' by England decision to bowl
Former captain Michael Vaughan said he was "staggered" by England's decision to field first after India piled on 359-3 on day one of the first Test at Headingley. Despite hot temperatures and a pitch offering no obvious assistance to the bowlers, England captain Ben Stokes chose to bowl on winning the toss. Advertisement Stokes' choice gave the opportunity for opposite number Shubman Gill to stroke an unbeaten 127, while opener Yashasvi Jaiswal cracked 101. In Stokes' defence, Gill also admitted he would have bowled first. But Vaughan, who played all of his domestic cricket for Yorkshire, told Test Match Special: "I am an old school traditionalist. Here at Leeds, when the sun is shining, with dry weather, you bat." England have made a habit of fielding first since Stokes became captain in 2022. In nine previous home Tests in which England have won the toss in that period, they have batted first only once. From those nine matches, they have won six and probably would have had a seventh had it not been for rain in Manchester during the fourth Ashes Test of 2023. Advertisement Recent history also favours fielding first at Headingley. The previous six Tests on this ground were won by the team that fielded first. There can be justification for fielding first in good batting conditions. In order to win a Test a team needs to bowl the opposition out twice, and therefore gives themselves the maximum amount of time to do that by fielding first. Some pitches also get better for batting as a Test progresses, making a run chase in the fourth innings the best time to score runs. Vaughan, who famously captained England to victory in the 2005 Ashes, believes Stokes should have given more credence to conditions on Friday morning when he made his decision. Advertisement "You always have to pick your decisions on that moment, and not things that you did here years ago or at other times. It can't affect what the decision is today," he said. "You look at the England side and their strength is in the batting. And there is inexperience in the bowling at the moment. Ben clearly had a gut feeling, and sometimes it has worked." England fast bowling consultant Tim Southee explained the decision was partly affected by the green colour of the pitch on Thursday. "With the colour of the wicket yesterday, and a little bit of moisture left in it if there was a little bit of help in it, it was probably going to be this morning," said the New Zealander. "That was the thinking behind the decision. Advertisement "You look at the surface and make the decision on what you think will give you the best chance. Not all the time do you get it right." There are infamous examples of England captains choosing to field first, only for the decision to backfire. Nasser Hussain did so in the first Ashes Test against Australia in Brisbane in 2002 and England never recovered. David Gower inserted the Australians on this ground in 1989, only for the tourists to rack up 601-7 declared. In contrast, Stokes himself asked New Zealand to bat first at Trent Bridge in 2022. The Black Caps piled on 553, but England completed a fourth-innings run chase courtesy of Jonny Bairstow, the first example of 'Bazball'. Advertisement Therefore, the wisdom of Stokes' decision in this Test will be revealed over the following four days and will be heavily influenced by how England play India pace-bowling maestro Jasprit Bumrah. "It was a good pitch, so it's not easy to restrict runs," said Vaughan. "Ben Stokes is still positive and he will come back tomorrow saying let's get seven wickets. "We won't know that for sure until we see Jasprit Bumrah bowl on it. He can bowl you out with anything. Until I see that, I will hold my judgement on how flat this pitch is."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
WNBA Turns Heads With Caitlin Clark Announcement on Friday
WNBA Turns Heads With Caitlin Clark Announcement on Friday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Early in her Indiana Fever career, Caitlin Clark, one of the best players in the WNBA, continues to climb the ladder. Advertisement Clark has proven to be one of the best guards in the WNBA, having played less than 100 games in her career. Clark made the WNBA All-Star game and won the Rookie of the Year award in her first professional season for the Fever. In her second season, Clark is looking to take another trip to the All-Star game. It won't be a long trip for Clark if she wants to have her name in the prestigious event. The WNBA All-Star game will take place on July 19 in Indianapolis, the home of the Indiana Fever. As the season inches closer to the All-Star game, the WNBA announced the first wave of fan votes. Caitlin Clark leads all players in fan voting. She's one of four Fever players in the Top 10 in All-Star voting, joined by Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull. Advertisement "First returns of fan voting results are in. Caitlin Clark and Napheesa Collier currently lead the way for the 2025 WNBA All-Star Fan Voting presented by @Ally," posted the official social media account of the WNBA. "This list includes the top 10 vote getters thus far." In her second season with the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark has posted 19.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game. The Fever's positioning in the All-Star voting should be viewed as a great accomplishment, given the names like Clark is involved with, including Napheesa Collier, A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. The Indiana Fever will be back on the court against Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Indiana boasts a 6-6 season record. Caitlin ClarkTrevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images After the announcement, some fans took to social media, sharing their thoughts on the Caitlin Clark news. Advertisement "Darn! Nepheesa is the player I wanted to see Caitlin play with," said one fan. "My top three exactly where they should be," said another fan. "And 4 Fever on there," mentioned one fan. "We did guys. 4 players in top 10. I am so happy," commented one fan. "Now you know," said one fan. "At this point make it the Fever against the rest of them," said another fan. Related: WNBA Reacts to Caitlin Clark's Behavior Toward Kate Martin on Thursday Related: Chicago Sky React to Angel Reese Announcement Before Indiana Fever Game This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 20, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Emerging spearhead revitalising newly-confident Lions
With their final "hoodoo" ticked off and a new spearhead hitting his straps, Brisbane are primed to hit the back end of their premiership defence high on confidence. The Lions claimed their first victory over Geelong in 22 years on Friday night, with second-year key forward Logan Morris kicking five goals in the 14.8 (92) to 6.15 (51) win. It means the reigning premiers (10-1-4) will head into the bye in second place and confident they can again do something special, despite losing key defender Jack Payne to injury. Logan Morris is turning out to be a draft steal ⭐️Relive his five goals against the Cats.#AFLCatsLions — AFL (@AFL) June 20, 2025 When asked if Brisbane were lifting based on their opponents, Fagan said "maybe" as he also reflected on their win over Hawthorn at the MCG and a tough away loss to Adelaide. "Maybe there's a little bit of that in it, but we've got to become better than that," he added. "But still, when we got to the bye last year, we were 13th. We got to the bye this year, we're second. "So plenty of things still to work on, but I think the boys have done a good job to win the flag, weather the storm in the first part of the year. It hasn't been smooth sailing, all the teams come at you. "So I'm pretty pleased with where we're at but it's a hard competition so you've just got to keep going, don't you? Brisbane's first win over the Cats in Geelong since 2003 was massive in the race for the top two. Collingwood (44 points) lead Brisbane (42) and Geelong (40). "It's a huge win for us," defender Jaspa Fletcher told AAP. "Fages brought it up in our meeting this week. It's obviously a bit of a hoodoo that we wanted to tick off. "He was pretty set on it in our meeting. It really fired the boys up. "He's been massive for us over his time here at the club. So I guess this win's for him as well." Young spearhead Morris, 20, now has 30 goals in 14 appearances this year after backing up his five-goal haul against GWS. "I love the fact that he was able to back up a great performance," Fagan said. "I said to him during the week 'mate, you've had a bit of attention this week, plenty of publicity - do you reckon you'll get a kick this week? "I think that was the secret, I said that to him and he wanted to prove me wrong. "He's a good, level-headed young fella, he's an exciting footballer. Twenty years of age, being able to do that sort of work on the field. It's exciting for Brisbane supporters that we found one. "Losing Joey (Daniher) last year was a bit of a blow but Logan's stepping up." Cam Rayner was at his dynamic best, kicking three goals,while Fagan believed small forward Kai Lohmann was finding confidence again. Brandon Starcevich was substituted after shutting down Patrick Dangerfield but Fagan confirmed he'd just been cramping in his second game back from a long lay-off with concussion.
