Souths coach Tracey van Dal admitted it was not Lions' most polished win but was happy to get back to winning ways at National Park on Saturday as Newcastle championship netball approached finals.
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Lions are the competition leaders with two rounds remaining in the regular season and were unbeaten this season until going down 46-37 to West Leagues Balance in round 12 with a performance van Dal described as "horrible".
But they bounced back to form in round 13, beating BNC Whanau 48-30. Souths led 8-5 at the end of the first quarter then 19-14 by half-time. But the damage was done in a devastating third quarter in which they outscored BNC 16 goals to seven to be up 35-21 heading into the final quarter.
"It was a scrappy win," van Dal said. "It wasn't one of our prettiest wins. But at this point a win is a win and we'll take it.
"It was a much improved performance by everyone and a start to building some momentum towards semis."
Van Dal made positional changes at half-time, including injecting Central Coast Heart player Zoe Peden into wing attack.
"She's been managing shin splints, so she was only available for one quarter and she certainly made a difference," van Dal said.
"She found lots of space and was able to hit the circle edge really well, and fed Millie Tonkin really well."
Lions improved to 30 points with the win and retained their two-point buffer over second-placed University of Newcastle (28 points), who beat Junction Stella (14 points) 54-31.
Third-placed West Leagues Balance (25) lost centre Sophie Buckley to a knee injury from the first centre of the match but recovered to beat Inner Glow 32-29. West led 10-5 at the first break, 16-15 at half-time and 26-19 heading into the last period.
West were also without goal shooter Maddie Taylor due to work commitments.
The loss left fifth-placed Inner Glow on 22 points and two behind fourth-placed Nova Thunder (24), who beat Kotara South (18) 46-38.
Inner Glow coach Dwight Graham conceded their finals hopes were fading but was happy with the performance against one of the competition's top teams.
"It's disappointing to lose but we basically did everything we talked about and did it pretty well, just not quite as well as West," Graham said.
"We managed to control the ball. We didn't throw much away. We stayed in the game. In the end, just at some crucial moments, West were just a little bit better. But there wasn't much in it."
Inner Glow face Souths in round 14 before meeting BNC in rescheduled round 10 on August 7. Round one has been abandoned.
Nova have BNC and West in their remaining two matches. And West have an extra game in hand against BNC that is likely to only be played if needed to determine top-four placings after August 7.
"I think mathematically we might still be able to make it, but I think the reality is probably not," Graham said.
"We'll just play each game as it comes and try to walk away from the games knowing we have given it everything, and I felt like we did that against West."
Round 13 results:
Souths beat BNC Whanau 48-30. Q1: Souths led 8-5; Q2: Souths led 19-14; Q3: 35-21.
West Leagues Balance beat Inner Glow 32-29. Q1: West led 10-5; Q2: West 16-15; Q3: 26-19.
Nova Thunder beat Kotara South 46-38. Q1: 13-13; Q2: Nova led 22-18; Q3: Nova led 36-28.
University of Newcastle beat Junction Stella 54-31. Q1: University led 15-8; Q2: University led 31-16; Q3: University led 41-22.
Points: Souths 30, University 28, West 25, Nova 24, Inner Glow 22, Kotara South 18, Junction Stella 14, BNC Whanau 10.
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