Giants Netball have sounded an ominous warning to the rest of the Super Netball competition with a crushing 66-51 win over West Coast Fever at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney.
The Giants were never troubled and lead from start to finish on Saturday. They flew out to an 18-12 quarter-time lead and extended it to 35-22 at halftime.
The Giants' momentum gathered pace in the second half as they grew their advantage to 52-34 at the end of the third period before running out convincing victors in front of about 5552 people.
The teams were statistically fairly even, but the Giants' experience shone through, seizing the flow of the game and controlling the tempo.
"It's a vastly improved performance on last week," Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald said.
"I was really really pleased. I thought we were far more in the contest and our ball movement down the court was a hell of a lot better."
The silky shooting of Kate Beveridge was a highlight for the Fever, but the former Australian Diamonds attacker received too little of the ball.
"There were passages of play that when we actually let the ball go and drove really hard we provided great opportunity for ourselves," Fever coach Stacey Marinkovich said.
"Unfortunately we backed away a little bit. [Giants] are a strong outfit, particularly defensively, they can do the space and they also do their one on one."
The Giants' seasoned trio of Kim Green, Bec Bulley and England's Serena Guthrie controlled the mid-court, allowing Susan Pettitt to roam around the attacking third. Pettitt finished with 15 goals.
Guthrie received a generous ovation when she was replaced in the fourth quarter. Captain Green was named the game's most valuable player.
England sharp shooter Jo Harten was replaced by Kristina Brice after scoring 24 goals at 86 per cent in the first half. Harten returned to partner Brice for the final quarter as coach Julie Fitzgerald continued to work on her side's combinations. Harten finished with 29 goals, Brice 22 at 92 per cent.
The Giants now face two matches away from home. The Fever next host the Queensland Firebirds.
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