Not even five 'quarters' were enough to separate the Sunshine Coast Lightning and NSW Swifts in today's pre-season hit out at Caloundra.
The Lightning trailed for most of the match but thundered home to square the ledger at 79-all at the final siren.
With first team regulars Steph Wood and Laura Scherian both absent due to Australian Diamonds duties, the Lightning's reserve players enjoyed plenty of court time in the marathon 75-minute match.
West Coast Fever recruit Annika Lee-Jones made the most of her extended time at Goal Keeper, coming up with a number of key stops to help the Lightning rally from a seven goal deficit in the final term.
The 22-year old said the hard-fought hit out was ideal preparation just over a month out from the start of the Suncorp Super Netball season.
"Playing five quarters instead of the usual four made it pretty tough going for everyone out there but that's exactly what we need at this time of the year.
"It was great to get some really nice time on court and I definitely felt more comfortable out there the longer the game went," Lee-Jones said.
At the scoring end, the Lightning were again spearheaded by impressive import Peace Proscovia, who produced another superb performance with 71 goals from 76 attempts. The 193cm goal shooter has now netted 155 goals from 164 attempts for the Lightning during the pre-season.
The Lightning are set to play at least one more pre-season match before their opening Suncorp Super Netball clash against the Magpies in Melbourne on April 27.
