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A stunning second quarter surge delivered the Melbourne Vixens a 57-44 win over the West Coast Fever in their opening trans-Tasman netball competition match.
The Vixens crushed the Fever with 11 unanswered goals during the quarter to turn a two point quarter-time deficit into a 11-goal halftime lead, up 32-21.
Playing in front of their home crowd at the State Netball and Hockey Centre in Melbourne, the Vixens got off to a sluggish start while the Fever looked sharp.
The fireworks predicted, after two of the Vixens, Johannah Curran and Madison Browne, defected to the Perth side in the off-season, never eventuated.
Towering West Coast goal shooter Caitlin Bassett slotted 13 goals from 15 attempts to steer her side to a 14-12 quarter time lead against their more fancied rivals.
But the Vixens looked a different side after the break, with their midcourt and shooting combinations clicking into gear.
They levelled the score at 18-18 and then proceeded to pile on 11 goals, with the honours shared between their goal attack, Australian captain Sharelle McMahon and goal shooter Caitlin Bassett.
McMahon finished the second quarter with eight goals from nine attempts while Bassett found the mark on 12 occasions from 14 attempts.
Fever coach Jane Searle substituted goal attack Bianca Franklin, who only managed three goals for the first half, for Nikala Smith with some success but the Vixens still proved too strong.
The home side, who finished fourth in the inaugural competition last year to the Fever’s ninth placing, maintained the break to lead 43-32 heading into the final quarter, which the Vixens continued to control.
Vixens coach Julie Hoornweg said she was delighted with her side’s performance given their interrupted pre-season with McMahon and goalkeeper Bianca Chatfield both recovering from knee surgery.
She wasn’t too concerned about their slow start and said the second quarter was when the side really stuck to the game plan.
“We’ve only ever had 12 players at training once for the whole pre-season so we knew we’d start this season a little disjointed and I think that’s why it’s probably such a good win for us,” Hoornweg said.
“You don’t win a game in the first quarter, you have to string four quarters together and while the first one was bad, to turn it around in the second and we won the third and the fourth as well … a win’s a win.”
Fever coach Jane Searle was left lamenting that costly second stanza.
“Except for that second quarter we did pretty well,” she said.
“We lost our drive in attack in that second quarter and they really settled down … but it’s nothing we can’t fix.
“I’m still optimistic about the season.”