She Cranes hold off Malawi to end Vitality Cup on a high

Vitality Netball Nations Cup

Third place: Uganda 50 Malawi 45

Final: England 61 South Africa 55

The She Cranes saved their best for last to win the third-place playoff 50-45 against Malawi in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup.

It was a much-improved performance from the team, and Coach Rashid Mubiru’s side performed like the She Cranes we know as they brought Malawi to their knees.

Mary Nuba was voted the player of the match. (Courtesy Photo)

The start of the match was not really good, as Uganda looked nervous and turned the ball over a number of times. At some point, Malawi had an 8-2 first-quarter lead, but Uganda slowly worked their way into the match and went into the break at 14-11.

The rest of the match was a seesaw, but at no point did it feel like the She Cranes were out of their depth. The girls dug deep and were always on hand to push the envelope. We saw a big improvement from Haniisha Muhameed and Gloria Aya.

She Cranes and Malawi do battle in the 3rd place playoff at the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham Copper Box Arena. (Courtesy Photo)

Margaret Baagala stood up to Malawi’s midcourt and was able to intercept a number of balls. With the full-court press on Malawi, the mistakes started coming, and the She Cranes took advantage.

They did a good job of maintaining their third-quarter lead, and the panic was definitely out of their game.

She Cranes and Malawi do battle in the 3rd place playoff at the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham Copper Box Arena. (Courtesy Photo)

When the final whistle blew, the players were elated and excited, but they also felt relieved.

England defeated South Africa to secure the overall title, but for the She Cranes, third place was ideal.