Share Lois Pearson shoots under pressure from Jo Trip (Photo by Stephen Gaunt of Touchlinepics.com for Manchester Thunder) Manchester Thunder returned home to Belle Vue Arena to face Severn Stars with a dominant 74-51 victory. A commanding first quarter from Thunder led from the defence end with an early intercept from Taylor McKevitt set up the storyline of the game. Thunder took an early 6-1 lead and the defence pressure continued to build with intercepts from Josie Huckle, forcing Stars into their first of four held balls. Amy Carter waded in with a great deflection near the end of the quarter to help Thunder lead by eleven goals. Stars made defensive changes for quarter two with Jess Haynes and Rachel Fee entering the game at goal defence and wing defence. Thunder continued their defence domination through Huckle who continued to gain intercepts as well as a team effort resulting in Stars' third held ball of the game. At the other end of the court, Lenize Potgieter and Lois Pearson continued their shooting dominance with Potgieter scoring fourteen goals in the second quarter to help Thunder lead at half time by twenty: 39-19. More changes came for Stars at half time with Lily Smith on at goal attack, Grace Namana moving back to goal shooter and Sigi Burger to the bench. After McKevitt picked up a warning, Ella Bowen took to the court at wing defence and her first touch of the ball was a deflection. Thunder held onto their twenty goal lead throughout the quarter and with five minutes left brought up fifty goals. Stars had a better quarter with Namana shooting those high arching shots she is known for and bringing some fight to the Stars shooting circle. End of quarter three and Thunder led 57-34. Quarter four started goal for goal but it doesn’t take long for Thunder to gain a turnover and push the score out to 60-38. With Nat Metcalf back on court at goal attack, and Iona Christian at wing attack, the Thunder attacking end stepped up a gear, with the ever reliable Potgieter continuing to shoot the lights out. Halfway through the quarter, Pearson came onto the court for Potgieter who only missed one shot out of the forty-nine attempts. Stars, with nothing to lose, continued to battle and draw the quarter shooting score 17-17 but the continued defensive pressure from all over the court for Thunder is just too much for Stars to manage. The scoreline continued to stretch out with Thunder hitting 70 goals with about five minutes left to play, as the match ended 74-51. Match report written by Kelly Walker, supplied by Manchester Thunder 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. Share Tags: Manchester Thunder Severn Stars