Wasps Netball to face Loughborough Lightning in the Grand Final - live on Sky Sports on Saturday, July 7 at 5pm
Tuesday 3 July 2018 07:48, UK
Defending champions Wasps secured their passage through to the Vitality Netball Superleague Grand Final where they will play Loughborough Lightning.
Not even a fire alarm midway through the encounter could stop Tamsin Greenway's juggernauts from reaching their second consecutive final as they crushed Team Bath and now face Loughborough Lightning in the final after they defeated Manchester Thunder.
Wasps were rewarded for finishing top of the regular-season standings with a home semi-final against five-time champions Team Bath at the University of Worcester and veteran star Rachel Dunn along with sharp-shooter Natalie Haythornthwaite led the holders to a 54-39 victory on Saturday.
Lightning, who finished second in the regular season, edged past Thunder 59-50 at the Leicester Arena.
Team Bath, who have not lifted the title since 2013, made the more confident start by opening up a five-goal cushion, but ruthless Wasps then took over proceedings.
They extended a 12-7 first-quarter advantage into a 29-13 lead by half-time and continued to maintain their rhythm thereafter.
Having won the title in their debut year, Wasps started the 2018 season with 12 successive victories before suffering back-to-back defeats to Loughborough Lightning and Manchester Thunder. But since then, it has been a return to their very best form for the team chasing back-to-back titles.
Team Bath were playing for their pride by the end of the third quarter as Wasps consolidated their lead with a 41-25 lead and closed out the game in the final quarter to return to next Saturday's showpiece event.
Loughborough and Thunder came into their match in red-hot form and the opening quarter saw some breathless attacking from both sides.
A 16-15 lead became 33-29 to Lightning at half-time but there was nothing in it and when Malawian shooter Joyce Mvula missed under the post for Thunder the hosts took over.
Anna Carter's side had the momentum as they moved into a 44-39 lead heading into a nail-biting final quarter.
Lightning were always in control though and Ugandan superstar Peace Proscovia sealed the game in Loughborough's favour to send them through to a showdown with Wasps, which will be a repeat of last year's Grand Final.
It's all eyes on next week's Grand Final as the 2018 campaign reaches its dramatic conclusion live on Sky Sports, on Saturday, July 7 at 5pm.
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