Share Loughborough Lightning held off a second half fightback from Saracens Mavericks to earn a 62-50 win on the road and move up to second in the Netball Super League. A quintessential ‘game of two halves’ as a handful of offensive errors in the opening fifteen left the home side with an almost impossible task in the remaining three quarters, as Lightning led 42-19 at the break before Mavericks rallied in the final two quarters. Mavericks were facing a Loughborough side that were riding high following victory over Manchester Thunder on Saturday and they made a rampant start at Hertfordshire Sports Village, leaving the Mavericks faithful fearing the worst. To their credit though, Camilla Buchanan’s side continued to show their fighting spirit, which was epitomised by Britney Clarke at goal shooter. Clarke was named in the starting seven at a packed HSV on Bank Holiday Monday and was praised by head coach, Camilla Buchanan for her 60-minute performance. Mavericks fans also showed their appreciation for Clarke, voting her Player of the Match in an online poll. The experienced Razia Quashie mirrored Clarke’s performance at the other end of the court, with impressive turnover, interception and deflection statistics to be awarded Gilbert Netball Player of the Match. 5⃣Turnovers 4⃣Intercepts 2⃣Deflections The stats don't lie for @R_Quashie_ who's standout performance sees her earn the @GilbertNetball Player of the Match Award 🏅#GetSomeNet | #NSL2023 pic.twitter.com/lgzwUfswLJ — Netball Super League (@NetballSL) May 1, 2023 Quashie, however, reflected on how Mavericks allowed Vic Burgess’s side too great an advantage in the beginning: Ellie Kelk and Lisa Mather entered the fray in the second quarter but a combination of offensive errors from the Black and Reds and title-challenging play from the Midlanders left the home side with a 23-goal deficit to close after the half time break. Britney Clarke was matter-of-fact about “the good talking to” her team received in the changing room but how “it was the fire that we needed. We had a complete change of mindset, we really stuck to structure and pushed on.” Georgia Lees was one of those who came out with fire in her belly to help her team win the third quarter and reduce the gap. As has been typical of Buchanan’s side in recent games, the final quarter was her team’s strongest in this Netball Super League Pride themed round. Mavericks played a gutsy fifteen and can be proud of winning the half by eleven goals and finishing the match just twelve behind Lightning. Mavericks have been working on how they adapt during games and it’s wonderful to hear how proud the head coach was of how well her team did just that in such a difficult match. “I couldn’t be prouder of the way we adjusted," said Buchanan. "Really, really happy with how they responded.” Saracens Mavericks will be back at Hertfordshire Sports Village for their penultimate home game next Saturday 6th May hoping to be crowned victorious over Strathclyde Sirens on Coronation Day. Follow the Netball Super League on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Keep up with all the latest news by signing up to the NSL newsletter here. Report provided by Saracens Mavericks Share Tags: Saracens Mavericks Loughborough Lightning