West Coast Fever Midcourter Jordan Cransberg says teammate Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard is looking unstoppable as the Fever advance into the Preliminary final this weekend.
Fever’s search for a second Super Netball title stayed alive after beating the Lightning 72-62 on Sunday at RAC Arena with the Jamaican Goal Shooter having a profound role in securing victory.
Fowler-Nembhard – who was celebrating her 35th birthday, shot 67 of the Fever’s 72 goals at 100% accuracy. This alone was enough to have beaten the Sunshine Coast Lightning’s team total 62-goals.
“It was her birthday on Sunday, so we were all extra motivated to make sure that we got the win for her,” Cransberg told SportFM.
“She is an absolute superstar and she’s proving that she’s pretty impossible to stop and we’re so lucky to have her on our team.
“But the work out the front that’s being done to get her the ball is something that can’t be forgotten.
“She’s making everything look good and she’s pretty unstoppable at the moment.”
Lightning had the momentum in the first quarter and took a two-goal advantage into the first break, however as the game progressed it got back onto Fever’s terms.
A crucial third quarter enabled Fever to create a 7-goal buffer which they extended on in the final quarter to see them over the line by 10-goals.
Cransberg revealed coach Dan Ryan encouraged them to focus and stick to the process at quarter time.
“We knew that it was going to be a close game coming in, and Sunshine Coast were going to be hard to beat,” she said.
“They weren’t going to go away quickly or easily. We weren’t surprised that it was within a point.
“Sticking to gameplay and process and knowing the more we build pressure and the more consistent we are in attack, we are a hard team to beat.
“If we can maintain that throughout 60 minutes, I think it makes life difficult for any opposition.
The Fever are one win away from making their fourth Super Netball grand final – with only the Melbourne Vixens standing in their way.
After the Adelaide Thunderbirds dismantled the Vixens by 25 goals, the Melbourne-based side will look to keep their finals hope alive as they host the Fever in Saturday’s Preliminary Final.
As the Fever hit the road again, Cransberg says her side is taking confidence from their win against the Vixens at John Cain Arena earlier this season.
“It was really important for us during the season to know that we could beat every team and we were able to do that,” she said.
“To be able to play Vixens so close to finals and have that success in that game, we would take a lot of confidence from it.
The Melbourne Vixens and West Coast Fever will battle it out at John Cain Arena in Melbourne on Saturday at 3pm AWST.
IMAGE: Rookie Me Central