Silver Ferns overcome gritty Malawi

Taking until the last few minutes, the Silver Ferns emerged from another pressure-cooker clash to fend off a determined Malawi 57-49 at Netball World Cup SYDNEY 2015 on Wednesday.

The result left the Silver Ferns as the only unbeaten team in the competition but they were made to work hard by the impressive Malawi Queens who ensured an exciting and absorbing contest by keeping the score close throughout.

The Silver Ferns threatened to break loose on occasions but could not shake a determined Malawi. However, the Silver Ferns rose to the challenge, again showing their growing confidence with a powerful late surge to defuse Malawi who had closed to within two with six minutes to go.

In a bid to manage player workloads after a couple of bruising lead-up encounters, while also remaining conscious of Malawi’s strike power, the Silver Ferns opted to start with Jodi Brown at goal attack and Shannon Francois at wing attack.

In a match of contrasting styles, the Silver Ferns were out of the blocks quickly, posting the first six goals in an impressive start. Unshaken Malawi stuck to their traditional patient game, relying on retaining possession until the opening appeared as the cut into the deficit.

The Laura Langman/Bailey Mes partnership continued to flourish with the shooter once again showing her fine athletic ability and confidence under the hoop.

With Malawi’s trump card in Mwai Kumwenda under the opposing hoop, well supported by her namesake Bridget Kumwenda at wing attack and lively centre Takondwa Lwazi, the underdogs made a real game of it with their persistence and ability to make the most of their opportunities.

The entertaining Kumwenda made history after becoming the first Malawi player to feature in the ANZ Championship and showed her full skill set in helping hold the Silver Ferns to a 16-13 lead at the first break.

Malawi managed to level-peg through most of the second stanza before the Silver Ferns stole a march late in the piece. The New Zealanders distinct height advantage across the court paid dividends as they started to win the aerial battle.

With the roving Kayla Cullen making a nuisance of herself and Langman and Francois gaining the impetus in attack, the Silver Ferns forced Malawi into turnovers as they opened out to a 30-24 lead at the main break.

Leana de Bruin was the only change for the Silver Ferns in the third stanza, replacing Katrina Grant at goal defence but again could not shake the persistent Malawi challenge despite leading by as many as eight goals during the quarter.

With the Silver Ferns poised to push on, Malawi had different ideas. Better ball retention and the exceptional skills of Kumwenda on the back of some handy turnovers by defender Towera Vinkhumbo, Malawi turned in a well-executed 15 minutes to outscore the Silver Ferns.

Threading the ball more confidently and consistently through court, Malawi trimmed the lead to just three when the Silver Ferns took a 42-39 lead into the last break.

Looking for more spark on attack, the Silver Ferns introduced Maria Tutaia for her 99^th international in a bid to close out the game, but taking until the final few minutes before they reached as position of comfort.

The Silver Ferns have a rest day tomorrow before playing their last qualification match against Uganda on Friday at 6.20pm (local time).

Quarter-by-Quarter Scores

SILVER FERNS│ Q1: 16 – Q2: 30 (14) – Q3: 42 (12) – Q4: 57 (15)

MALAWI│ Q1: 13 – Q2: 24 (11) – Q3: 39 (15) – Q4: 49 (10)

Shooting Statistics

SILVER FERNS: 57/66 @ 86%

Mes: 33/38 @ 87%

Brown: 16/19 @ 84%

Tutaia: 8/9 @ 89%

MALAWI: 49/55 @ 89%

Kumwenda: 38/42 @ 90%

Simtowe: 11/13 @ 85%

Starting Line-ups

SILVER FERNS│ GS Mes, GA Brown, WA Francois, C Langman, WD Cullen, GD Grant, GK Kopua

MALAWI│ GS M.Kumwenda, GA Simtowe, WA B.Kumwenda, C Lwazi, WD Mwafulirwa, GD Mtukule, GK Vinkhumbo

Positional Changes

SILVER FERNS

Q3 – GD de Bruin

Q4 – GA Tutaia