NETBALL: NORTHERN Thunder put in another fine performance despite a defeat to the champions Mavericks at a packed Castle Leisure Centre in Bury.

After a shaky start after which they finished the first quarter eight goals down (17-9), they made a better fist of the final three quarters. They lost the second and fourth quarters and won the third quarter by 12 goals to 11.

Other positives to take from the game were that Thunder actually had a slightly higher shot count than Mavericks with 67 shots attempted to 64.

The class of England’s tall GS Louisa Brownfield shone through with an amazing 31 shots from 34 attempts (91 per cent) and an overall team performance of 53 goals from 64 attempts (83 per cent).

Northern Thunder’s player of the match Beverley Lovatt was positive post match. She said: “We built up throughout the game and played our best netball in the last two quarters which was reflected in the result.”

Assistant coach of Northern Thunder Suzy Chapman said: “The final result was not in our favour, but the positives to take away from this game are that we played some excellent netball at times and we are improving every game.”

Maverick’s Captain Louisa Brownfield said: “We are pleased with twopoints, we’re improving each game but there’s still a long way to go before we are satisfied.”