- Chaos reigned in netball on Saturday
- The wrong team won
- Extra time was played and the Giants won
Controversy surrounded the Giants’ chaotic 86-80 overtime victory over the Sunshine Coast at Ken Rosewall Arena, after the Lightning were initially declared the victors amid a bizarre scoring bench error.
The Lightning, believing they were protecting a one-goal lead, held off in the final half-minute of regulation Saturday night before the full-time siren sounded with the stadium scoreboard showing them ahead 71-70.
Players and coaches from both teams shook hands, shooter Cara Koenen was declared player of the game, and disappointed fans began to file out the exit doors.
But there was a discrepancy with the final scores, and Champion Data declared a tie at 71.
The Lightning referees and players had already headed to their rooms but the Giants remained on the court waiting for overtime.
A scoring error meant the wrong team took victory in Saturday’s netball.
They remained adamant that there had been a technical error and that the score was tied.
“We were always very sure it was a tie and we actually protested the moment the score was changed,” Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald said during the lengthy 50-minute delay between the end of regulation and the game. start of extra time.
‘The players knew it was a tie.
‘When we came out, we were a bit taken aback.
“I would have thought there would be some kind of provision for what should happen now.”
The stats bank furiously reviewed the game broadcast and examined every goal of the fourth quarter.
Twenty minutes after the full-time bell rang, the stadium score was officially updated to 71-71.
There was a change to the competition rules before the season that tied games would require extra time, but an exception seemed an option when the referees were thought to have left the building.
The referees finally emerged and were mic’d back up, while the Lightning players also re-entered the arena.
“(We were told) there was a score review and a tied game,” Sunshine Coast coach Belinda Reynolds said shortly before play resumed.
“We’re a little disappointed because obviously we had possession in the last part of the game, we would have played very differently and we would have gone to the post.”
Fitzgerald pulled off a stunning coaching masterstroke to start extra time, replacing captain Jo Harten with unused substitute Matisse Letherbarrow.
The game continued and the Giants won in overtime in Sydney.
The replacement sharpshooter scored nine goals, including three super shots, as the Giants snatched the game from the Sunshine Coast with an 11-1 explosion to start the extension.
It was heartbreaking for the Lightning for the second week in a row, after being robbed of a miraculous victory by the Melbourne Mavericks last week.
Before the controversy, the match had been a high-profile thriller, with no more than one goal separating the two teams at each half-time.
Koenen hit her first 33 shots, while her Lightning teammate and Diamonds captain Liz Watson racked up a whopping 36 assists and 66 digs.
At the other end, Sophie Dwyer was a shooting force, Jamie-Lee Price consistent in the middle and Letherbarrow the hero at the end.