The West Coast Fever have revived their trans-Tasman netball season and recorded one of their best victories beating the injury-hit Adelaide Thunderbirds 53-51 at Challenge Stadium on Sunday.
The Fever have been Australia's perennial under-achievers in the ANZ Championship but this year big things were expected in coach Norma Plummer's third year in charge.
However, one win from the first five games was a disastrous start but their win over the defending champions could spark their campaign.
Coming into the contest both teams were desperate for a win with the Fever needing to revive their one-win campaign while the injury-hit defending champions were looking to bounce back from a two-game losing run.
Despite having only beaten Adelaide once in 12 attempts, and that came in 2011, it was West Coast who were out of the blocks fast with a superb opening quarter racing out to 14-8 lead before the Thunderbirds clawed back within four at quarter-time.
The Thunderbirds continued to hit back in the second quarter and trailed by two goals at halftime and the visitors drew level late in the third period, but the Fever managed to cling to a one-goal advantage going into the fourth quarter.
Perhaps predictably, the Thunderbirds took the lead early in the final period, but the Fever wouldn't go away as they have so often in the past against strong teams.
The Fever finished the stronger to win by four goals and much credit must go to Eboni Beckford-Chambers' defensive work restricting both Carla Borrego to 23 goals from 30 attempts and Erin Bell to 28 from 36.
At the other end, Caitlin Bassett scored 39 from 48 for the Fever and veteran Nat Medhurst 14 from 17.
Adelaide were so down on numbers through injury that they called up former Melbourne Vixen Wendy Jacobsen for the trip to Perth, but the 35-year-old was outstanding and certainly had the better of her wing battle with the Fever's Shae Bolton.
