Silver Ferns finish strong in Invercargill

Building through the international window, the Silver Ferns took another step up when delivering a morale-boosting 61-56 win over England in the third match of the Taini Jamison Trophy in Invercargill on Sunday.

After losing the first two Tests by one and four-goal margins, the Silver Ferns were intent in denying England a clean sweep before going on to maintain their unbeaten record against the Roses in the Deep South with a heartening response in the series finale.

Retaining an unchanged seven for the entire match, the Silver Ferns led at each quarter break, at times rocketing out to positions of control and at others, defending stoutly to keep an ever-challenging England at bay.

Growing throughout the series, the Silver Ferns showed their resilience on the back of better through-court connections, ball retention and composure while the twin towers at either end of the court in shooter Grace Nweke and defender Kelly Jackson, made invaluable individual contributions.

Making her international debut at the beginning of the series, Claire O’Brien returned to the game-day 12 for the Silver Ferns to make her first start after injury ruled fellow wing attack Whitney Souness out of contention.

Karin Burger got the start at wing defence while rookie Parris Mason earned her second straight start in the goal defence bib.

For the Roses, wing defence Ellie Rattu and goal keeper Razia Quashie got their first action of the series after being named in the England starting line-up.

The Silver Ferns still had the odd problem threading the ball through the midcourt but with key target Nweke making the best of starts with her positioning for well-directed feeds and accuracy under the hoop, the home side kept their noses in front through a fast-paced and high-scoring opening stanza.

The crack England pairing of Liv Tchine and Helen Housby shared the shooting load expertly but with the quality service of ball finding its way into Nweke’s hands, the Silver Ferns shaded the Roses 18-16 heading into the first break.

The second quarter produced a flurry of activity with the lead changing hands several times. With England centre Imogen Allison heading to the sidelines after a heavy fall, a reshuffled Roses midcourt worked the ball expertly into their shooting duo.

A couple of untimely attacking lapses from the Silver Ferns gave England the opportunity to push into the lead before the defensive trio of Jackson, Mason and Burger staged a stirring revival from the home side.

Getting their hands to plenty of turnover opportunities while also causing hesitation in the England attacking set-up, the Silver Ferns produced a telling six-goal unanswered streak to re-take the lead.

At times, the ball flew back and forth in frenetic fashion, the Silver Ferns maintaining their composure to steady the ship and take a handy 32-28 lead into the main break.

The intensity lifted a notch during a helter-skelter third quarter where turnovers featured highly as both teams contested every play.

The Silver Ferns had the better of the opening minutes with Maddy Gordon and O’Brien attacking the circle edge to precision, perfect finishing from Nweke helping the home side maintain their buffer.

At the other end, the quality shooting of Tchine and smart play of Housby and Lois Pearson ensured England were always within touching distance. With both sides defending furiously, England made better use of their extra opportunities, scooping up late turnovers to narrow the gap as the Silver Ferns took a tenuous 47-46 lead at the last turn.

The Silver Ferns came out steaming and full of determination to start the final stanza, an opening 8-2 burst in the first six minutes putting the home side in a position of control.

The tall figures of Nweke under the shooting hoop and Jackson as the last line of defence led the way. Jackson was immense in disrupting England’s scoring opportunities with her ability to get hand to ball while Nweke showed her class under pressure with her accuracy and finishing ability.