Perfect Thwaites highlights Diamonds win vs. South Africa

A perfect shooting game has seen NSW Swifts player Caitlin Thwaites produce an instrumental performance in the Australian Diamonds to a 68-43 victory against South Africa Spar Proteas in game one of the Quad Series in Auckland.

The Diamonds faced a fitter and faster South Africa to the team to the one they last played at the 2015 Netball World Cup in Sydney, however used their defensive prowess to mitigate the challenges thrown at them by the South Africans.

With a team that included two debutants, one of which was NSW player Stephanie Wood, the Aussies led from start to finish.

They opened up a nine-goal lead in the first quarter, with the margin opening up to 16 in the second as they accelerated to a 36-20 lead at half time.

Australia then added to their tally in the third term to extend themselves to a 50-30 lead, using the final stanza to put victory beyond doubt, finishing winners by a 25 goal margin.

Helping the Diamonds to the result was Thwaites, who entered the game at the beginning of the third quarter in the goal shooter position. Playing the entire second half, the NSW player shot 23 from 23 to be the most accurate on court.

Australia coach Lisa Alexander said that the team’s ability to perform under pressure was courtesy of their strong discipline.

“I’m really pleased with their performance, they stood up to some quite physical pressure and I think they did that very well,” Alexander said.

“They were disciplined, they pulled the ball in strongly and I think the ball was delivered beautifully on most occasions so I am very pleased with that.”

The Diamonds will now turn their attention to their second game of the Quad Series against the England Roses in Adelaide next Wednesday.