By Blake Bint
IN a match which see-sawed from start to finish, a USW second half surge that featured 28 points from goal-attack Natalie Mackay, fired the home side to a 44-41 victory against Southampton 5ths.
The first half started slowly on the scoring front thanks to some good defending at either end of the court, particularly from the Southampton goalkeeper, Kate Parrott.
The visitors showed they had great ability and balance across the whole court as Caitlin Shoesmith joint top-scored and Jessie Etheridge offered an aggressive approach in the wing defence position by frequently making space and offering herself as a passing option time and again.
By the end of the first half, the hosts looked in trouble trailing 19-15 following a second quarter in which Southampton dominated.
But the third quarter showed the first signs of a remarkable USW comeback.
Substitute centre, Katie Dowle played a great game both going forward and in defence. Her link up play in attack with Mackay and Tiegan Bruton, who had a quiet first half, led to USW scoring 15 points in the quarter to level the game at 30-30.
Despite Southampton staying in touch and the game swinging back and forth, the third quarter USW showed new desire and looked likelier to take the win.
The final quarter was a rollercoaster. Southampton came out of the blocks the stronger with Shoesmith netting a further 11 points, but her attacking partner Yasmin Lusein, who had been impressive, struggled to make her presence felt due to some crucial blocks from USW goalkeeper Molly Howarth.
As USW managed to start winning rebounds, they managed to move the ball with great pace and clinical finishing against from Mackay and Bruton saw them home.