T-Birds beat Magic 52-42 in grand final

Three years of grand planning finally delivered Adelaide Thunderbirds coach Jane
Woodlands-Thompson the trans-Tasman netball championship on Sunday.
Woodlands-Thompson's Thunderbirds defeated Waikato Magic 52-42 in the title decider
on Sunday in Adelaide.
Before a home crowd of 9,300 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, the T-Birds
jumped the Magic early to steal a momentum they never relinquished.
Adelaide led by seven goals at quarter time and then grimly defended that advantage
for remainder of the playoff - the Magic were never closer than a five-goal margin
with nine minutes remaining.
The Thunderbirds, who gained some revenge for losing last year's grand final,
generated 65 shots to the Magic's 49, a statistic evidencing the control of
Adelaide.
With prominent displays from creative centre Natalie von Bertouch and wing attack
Emily Beaton, who lodged a game high 16 goal-assists, Adelaide fed their on-song
Jamaican shooter Carla Borrega a feast of chances.
Borrega sparked Adelaide early with a purple patch which laid the victory foundation.
The Thunderbirds had trailed 2-4 to start but then went on a scoring spree that
reaped 13 of the next 15 goals.
Borrega's stretch and sure shooting completed the upfield work, and Adelaide had
opened a 15-8 quarter-time lead.
That seven goal buffer was never seriously challenged by the Magic, whose star
shooter Irene van Dyke was restricted to 30 goals from 33 attempts.
T-Bird goal defence Geva Mentor proved a thorn for van Dyke, completing four timely
intercepts in a performance that won her the player of the grand final medal.
The victory follows Adelaide finishing third and second in the past two seasons.
"To go 3-2-1 was my plan right from the start," said Woodlands-Thompson.
"I thought with this core group of wonderful players that we can get one.
"It took us three years to get the right personnel list and train them up and play
the style that I had in mind, and they have come to the party brilliantly."
Borrega finished with 40 of 46 goal attempts while her attacking partner Erin Bell
posted 12 from 19.
Magic coach Noelene Taurua lamented a sluggish start.
"We started slowly, probably not as energised as we have in the past," Taurua said.
"They got the run on and us and from there, we got into catch up netball.