2007–08 Netball Superleague season

Netball Superleague season
Sports season
2007–08 Netball Superleague season
LeagueNetball Superleague
Number of teams8
TV partner(s)Sky Sports
Champions Galleria Mavericks
  Runners-up Loughborough Lightning
Season MVPPamela Cookey (Team Bath) [1]
Seasons

The 2007–08 Netball Superleague season (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-operative Netball Superleague) was the third season of the Netball Superleague. The league was won by Galleria Mavericks after they defeated Loughborough Lightning in the grand final. This was Mavericks first title win.

Overview

The season started in October 2007 and was concluded in April 2008 with the grand final. Sky Sports continued to broadcast matches and The Co-operative Group became the Netball Superleague's new sponsor.[2][3] Loughborough Lightning finished top of the table with the conclusion of the regular season but it was Galleria Mavericks who finished as champions after they defeated Lightning in the grand final.[4][5]

Teams

2007–08 Superleague teams Home venue/base Country/Region
Brunel Hurricanes Guildford Spectrum[6] Greater London/South East England
Celtic Dragons Welsh Institute of Sport Wales
Galleria Mavericks University of Hertfordshire East of England
Leeds Carnegie Leeds Metropolitan University Yorkshire
Loughborough Lightning Loughborough University East Midlands
Northern Thunder Bury, Greater Manchester North West England
Team Bath University of Bath South West England/West of England
Team Northumbria Gateshead[7] North East England

Regular season

After winning 13 of their 14 matches, Loughborough Lightning finished top of the table with the conclusion of the regular season. The only team to beat Lightning during the regular season was Team Northumbria. With a team that included Megan Hutton, they enjoyed their best season in the Netball Superleague, finishing second during the regular season and qualifying for the play-offs.[4][7][8]

Final table

2007–08 Netball Superleague
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA PP Pts Qualification
1 Loughborough Lightning 14 13 0 1 769 505 152.3 26 Qualified for major semi-final
2 Team Northumbria 14 11 1 2 679 482 140.9 23
3 Team Bath 14 9 0 5 715 491 145.6 18 Qualified for minor semi-final
4 Galleria Mavericks 14 9 0 5 630 471 133.8 18
5 Brunel Hurricanes 14 6 1 7 611 545 112.1 13
6 Leeds Carnegie 14 5 0 9 555 740 75.0 10
7 Celtic Dragons 14 1 0 13 482 753 64.0 2
8 Northern Thunder 14 1 0 13 413 867 47.6 2
Source: [citation needed]

Play-offs

The play-offs utilised the Page–McIntyre system to determine the two grand finalists. This saw the top two from the regular season, Loughborough Lightning and Team Northumbria, play each other, with the winner going straight through to the grand final. The loser get a second chance to reach the grand final via the minor final. The third and fourth placed teams, Team Bath and Galleria Mavericks also play each other, and the winner advances to the minor final. The winner of the minor final qualifies for the grand final.

Major semi-final
15 March 2008 Loughborough Lightning 66–48 Team Northumbria    English Institute of Sport, Sheffield[9][10]
Minor semi-final
15 March 2008 Galleria Mavericks 50–37 Team Bath    English Institute of Sport, Sheffield[11]
Scoring by quarter: 14–10, 22–21, 38–27, 50–37
Minor final
29 March 2008 Galleria Mavericks 52–34 Team Northumbria    English Institute of Sport, Sheffield[12][13]
Scoring by quarter: 11–9, 25–18, 39–26, 52–34

Grand Final

5 April 2008 Galleria Mavericks 43–39 Loughborough Lightning    K2 Leisure Centre[5][14][15][16]
Umpires: Joanna Kelly and Judith Groves 		Sky Sports
Scoring by quarter: 6–9, 14–21, 28–31, 43–39
Louisa Brownfield Goals scored 32/37 (86%) ?
Michelle Hall Goals scored 9/11 (82%)
Monique Wood Goals scored 2/7 (29%) 		Joanne Harten Goals scored 24/30 (80%)
Alex Wood Goals scored 11/17 (65%)
Becky James Goals scored 4/8 (50%)

References

  1. ^ "Cookey & Garland win end of season plaudits". www.sportfocus.com. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Loughborough Lightning poised to strike". www.womensportreport.com. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. ^ "England Netball enters Co-operative partnership for Superleague". www.sportbusiness.com. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Lightning finish Superleague on top". www.womensportreport.com. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Third time lucky for magnificent Mavericks". www.whtimes.co.uk. 6 April 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Team Bath hit with injury beat Leeds Carnegie". www.womensportreport.com. 25 February 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  7. ^ a b "TN closing in on final". www.thenorthernecho.co.uk. 29 March 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Murphy backs Loughborough quality". news.bbc.co.uk. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Netball Superleague Playoff". nigelfarrow.photoshelter.com. 15 March 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Lightning strikes to take first final place". www.express.co.uk. 17 March 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Mavericks sink Bath in play-offs". www.whtimes.co.uk. 18 March 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Mavericks net place in Grand Final". www.whtimes.co.uk. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Mavericks crush Northumbria's play off hopes". www.express.co.uk. 31 March 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Super leauge [sic] final 5th April 2008". www.lewesnetballclub.co.uk. 5 April 2008. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  15. ^ "What a match! Mavericks def Loughborough Lightning in Super League Final". www.womensportreport.com. 6 April 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  16. ^ "Mavericks win Netball Superleague final". www.sportsister.com. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2020.