n a nail-biting affair that was not decided until the second half of the match, Australia secured their second successive victory in Group F at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town when they beat Malawi 70-46.
It took a while for Malawi defenders Loreen Ngwira and Towera Vinkhumbu to work out how to box in the Australian shooters but once they got their number, they turned important possession back towards their own goal circle.
Vinkhumbu, who also plays football at national level in Malawi, was outstanding outside the circle as well.
Five minutes into the second quarter however, Ngwira was helped from court after she went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury. She was replaced by Jane Dambo.
Malawi started with their strongest seven and it showed at halftime with the scores level at 28-all. The Queens outscored Australia 15-12 in the second quarter, the Diamonds’ first quarter loss in Cape Town.
The first changes in the Australian line-up were made in the third quarter with Sophie Garbin coming on as goal shooter and Jo Weston as goal defence.
The 11-time world champions then started building on what would become a healthy lead.
Faster gameplay forced Malawi into silly mistakes like stepping and handling. Jamie-Lee Price’s appearance at centre injected even more urgency for Australia.
With more than 60 per cent of the possession and landing almost 92 per cent of their shots at goal in the last 15 minutes, the Diamonds overcame a shaky start and avoided what would have been the greatest upset in Netball World Cup history.
Steph Wood only missed one of her 19 shots at goal and her general play as Australian goal attack earned her the Most Valuable Player award.
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