The Firebirds made a bright start to the all-Queensland clash at Morayfield Sports and Events Centre but wound up falling to a 60-59 defeat.
The loss means the Firebirds Futures take on Giants Netball Academy in Sunday’s playoff for seventh place in their final match of the tournament.
Having narrowly missed out on Saturday’s medal semi-final matches due on percentage despite three wins and one defeat, the Firebirds Futures made a bright start against the Lightning Bolts racing to a 5-1 lead inside the opening three minutes.
They extended that advantage to five points at the end of the first quarter, with the margin staying the same after a tight second quarter.
The Lightning Bolts came back in the third term to level scores heading into the final quarter.
A run of three straight goals to Queensland pathways product Charlie Bell had the Lightning Bolts out by three early in the last quarter, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish despite the Firebirds Futures refusing to go away.
Rylee Burns cut the deficit to one goal with 45 seconds to play the Firebirds Futures couldn’t find another score before time ran out.
Abigail Meafou ended the match with 34 goals from 36 attempts as well as seven goal assists, while Burns had 18 goals from 22 and Elsa Sif Sandholt had seven goals from eight attempts.
Captain Leesa Mi Mi was a standout in midcourt with 27 goal assists, 38 feeds and 36 centre pass receives.
At the back, Ashlee Barnett notched three gains, three intercepts and five deflections.
Sunday’s clash with the Giants starts at 9.50am.
To view the full fixture for the tournament, click here.
All days of the ANC will be ticketed. Tickets start from $10 for junior and concession and from $15 for adults.
Click here to purchase tickets.
All ANC matches are available to watch FREE via Kayo Freebies while overseas fans can watch finals matches on Netball Australia TV.
