Africa-Press – Malawi. Malawi netball icon Mwawi Kumwenda inspired her Australia Suncorp Super Netball League side Melbourne Vixens to victory in a scintillating 66- 63 overtime thriller against Giants Netball on Saturday.
The win kept Vixens second on percentage behind West Coast Fever who also collected full points in a 74-65 victory over Lightning Sunshine Coast. Kumwenda made the difference for Vixens as she achieved a 100 percent rate, converting all her 50 attempts on goal.
Vixens’ website reports: Level at 60 goals apiece at the end of the fourth quarter, the match entered unchartered territory for the 2022 season – overtime – with the composure of both Liz Watson (46 goal assists) and Mwawi Kumwenda (50/50) steering the ship to victory.
It was a scrappy start to the game with uncharacteristic turnovers marring the opening minutes of the first term. Defensively Jo Weston, Emily Mannix and Kate Eddy found their groove, reeling in some big intercepts and rebounds but it was the accuracy of Kumwenda under the post that did the damage as we established a three-goal lead.”
The league’s website supernetball.com.au also highlighted the important role Kumwenda played in the match. “The teams traded the first six goals of the extra-time period before Melbourne’s Mwawi Kumwenda completed a super individual effort by scoring the last three of the match to finish with 50 goals from as many attempts,” the report reads.
Vixens Coach Simone McKinnis said she was both relieved and pleased with her side’s efforts to get over the line under intense circumstances. “One of the things that impressed me in that five minutes of extra time was that we were quite composed, and we kept it simple. We were driving and playing our game well. I thought that was really pleasing to see and that sort of experience together as a team is important,” she said. Vixens’ next match is against West Coast Fever Tuesday.
For More News And Analysis About Malawi Follow Africa-Press
