Inspirational captain Jo Harten has climbed out of her sick bed to steer the Giants to a convincing, come-from-behind 69-60 victory over the Collingwood Magpies at the Silverdome in Launceston.
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Harten, who has yet to hit the training track since recovering from a recent bout of flu, nailed an incredible 10 super shots from 11 attempts in her 51-point haul on Wednesday to launch the Giants into Super Netball's top four.
Her long-range expertise was critical as the Giants turned a concerning 11-point second-quarter deficit into an unassailable eight-point three-quarter-time lead, leaving Collingwood rattled.
"We were pretty peed off at half-time," Harten said. "We weren't playing the game that we said we would play.
"Jules (coach Julie Fitzgerald) said our season was on the line.
"What a response from all seven on court - it was a blinder of a third quarter."
The Magpies were coming off an impressive win over the Queensland Firebirds in Hobart on Sunday and had never previously lost in Tasmania, the club's second "home".
Behind brilliant centre Molly Jovic and outstanding shooter Shimona Nelson, Collingwood stretched their 17-15 quarter-time advantage to 34-23 late in the second term.
The Giants wracked up multiple unforced turnovers in attack, with Fitzgerald lamenting: "We're wasting too many opportunities ... we've given ourselves opportunities to get into the game and we've just thrown them away."
A flurry of Harten super shots sliced the margin to 37-31 at half-time before the Giants uncorked a sizzling 24-10 third quarter, at one stage outscoring the Magpies a whopping 30-11 either side of the long break.
"We've got no accountability defensively," Collingwood coach Nicole Richardson said, eyeballing her defenders.
"They (Giants) are just doing what they want."
Jamie-Lee Price finally began quelling the rampant Jovic, Amy Parmenter did likewise to Kelsey Browne, Maddie Hay stepped up at wing attack and Harten and Sophie Dwyer dominated in the shooting circle.
Four straight Nelson goals gave Collingwood a sniff in the fourth before the inspirational Harten got rolling once again as the Giants snapped a two-game losing streak to secure their 11th straight head-to-head win over the Pies.
Australian Associated Press
