High-fives for Thunder as Dragons cut down

MANCHESTER Thunder were too strong for Celtic Dragons, securing a facile 81-36 success and dominating from start to finish.

Dragons, without a win this season, arrived at the Thunderdome in the hope of forcing an upset — but Thunder had other ideas.

The hosts, buoyed by four straight wins, forced a turnover from the first centre pass, and Helen Housby slotted two straightforward attempts to set the tone for the remainder of the first quarter, which ended 20-11 in Thunder’s favour.

A blow for Thunder at the start of the second phase saw Kerry Almond go down with an ankle problem and she was unable to continue. But that setback failed to halt the flow of points as Thunder stretched their lead to 30-15.

The Welsh outfit came out with a renewed sense of purpose after the half-time break, putting pressure on Thunder’s centre court play, but they couldn’t disrupt their opponents’ rhythm.