Northumbria was the only franchise that Hertfordshire Mavericks had not played against this season so the full packed out crowd were eagerly waiting for this match. Karen Atkinson was on the bench tonight but in her other role as coach. Mavericks began strongly and the new pairing of Buchanan and Morgan Smith strengthened and the ball was being worked well around the circle edge and into the established figure of Brownfield and the younger Clarke showing some good rotations which opened the space nearer the post. At the defensive end Stenhouse and Schofield were combining well and limited the experienced Alex Wood to 7 successful shots and the GA to two shooting opportunities. The score at the 15 minute break was 15-8. Northumbria came out in the second quarter with a key strategy: to split the defensive duo. This worked effectively and although the Mavericks attacking quartet were beginning to turn the defences head the shooting opportunities were reaching the level that the coaching team were happy with; 19 for the quarter. However the Northumbria squad must have been pleased with their 12 goals against Mavericks 13.

A change in the Mavericks attacking and defending circle limited the shooting of Alex Wood although Linighan was beginning to take more responsibility for the shooting. The accuracy of both Monique Wood and Louisa Brownfield was running at 93% but the need to feed earlier and quicker became a focus for the last quarter and the centre court responded well to this challenge. Hutchinson, at WD was tightening up her defensive play as the match progressed and turnovers by the back 3 players were a very positive area to finish the match on.