daniel chigunwe
Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter
GEMS captain Felisitus Kwangwa was back on the court over the weekend as her club Surrey Storm grabbed their second victory for the 2022 Vitality Netball Superleague season in the United Kingdom.
They beat Leeds Rhinos 58-49 at Surrey Sports Park.
Kwangwa, who started on the bench, played the last five minutes of the game.
It was her second game in action as her first match was against reigning champions Loughborough Lightning on February 21.
They lost that game 56–72 .
The Gems captain joined the rest of the team about two weeks ago due to some delays that saw her failing to join the team for the pre-season preparations and their first two games.
Kwangwa felt there was still more she needed to do to catch up with her teammates, but was delighted to be back in action.
“It’s really good to be back and I am so excited to be playing again in the league.
“Since I rejoined the team I can say everything is going well though I feel like I am still lagging behind. So I have got a lot of things to work on so that I can catch up with others. So hopefully in the next two weeks I will be just at the same level as everyone else.
“I played on Saturday and last Monday against Loughborough though we lost and it was my first game at the home ground, so I really had fun. I was excited although the outcome was not good.
“But given that we were playing against the defending champions, I think our contest was quite good. And on Saturday I played the last five minutes of the game (against Leeds Rhinos), which was really fun, the team was already winning, so I was already in a celebratory mood,” said Kwangwa.
The weekend’s victory against Leeds Rhinos, was Surrey Storm’s second win. They are occupying sixth place with six points from five games.
They have so far lost three matches and they are nine points behind leaders Manchester Thunder who are yet to lose a match.
Storm are seeking an improvement from last season when they finished 10th in the 11-team league.
The season ends on June 5 with the Grand Final.
Kwangwa is hoping they make the top four at the end of the round matches to progress to the semi-finals, so that they have a chance of playing in the Grand Final, which decides the league winners.
“The team’s performance is quite promising and as of now we are sixth on the table. I just hope we will maintain that if not improving it.
“So our main aim this season is just to finish in the top four and obviously if we make it into the top four we are going to play in the finals. So I think with what I have seen as of now, I have a feeling that we can make it this season,” said Kwangwa.
Kwangwa made her debut appearance in the Vitality Netball Superleague last year at Surrey Storm and the club re-signed her for the current season.
Online Reporter