Proud Chiara Semple insisted the hard work had finally paid off after Team Northumbria broke their Superleague losing streak to breathe new life into the 2018 season.
TeAroha Keenan’s side stormed to a much-needed win at the ninth time of asking with a thrilling come-from-behind victory at Celtic Dragons.
And New Zealand pair Semple and Tamsin Moala both converted more than 90% of their shots to underpin a sensational 56-51 win.
“Te has had us shooting every day and we wanted to make that count,” said a delighted Semple.
“We were seven goals down at half-time and on a few occasions this season our third quarter has been our worst period.
“We were determined that wouldn’t be the case in Cardiff and we reduced the deficit to two heading into the final period.
“We won that quarter 18-9 and deserved the win. It’s been a long time coming but we knew it would happen.”
TN had dominated the final quarter against Severn Stars the previous week only to spurn possession in the final third.
And Semple and co. were in no mood to make the same mistakes twice.
“Against Stars we hurried things and rushed our passes and shots,” she added. “The difference against the Dragons was that we stayed patient and took our time.
“For the second week running the defence put their bodies on the line to get us more great ball and this time we made it count.
“The Dragons are a physical side but we’d trained hard all week to prepare for that and it paid off.
“The mood in the camp is fantastic right now and we can’t wait to build on the win.”
TN are now just three points adrift of three teams on six points and suddenly the pre-season target of a top eight finish is back on.
Keenan’s side face second-placed Loughborough Lightning on Saturday before hosting joint-bottom UWS Sirens on Monday May 7.
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