By Amellia Wood
The Australian Diamonds have taken their Birmingham 2022 dominance into day two with a 53-goal victory over Scotland.
After their decisive start yesterday the Diamonds carried that intensity into the second day of their campaign.
Paige Hadley made her Commonwealth Games debut in centre against Scotland captain, Claire Maxwell, who returned to the court in her first international match since giving birth last year.
A new-look starting seven took to the court with Hadley, Gretel Bueta, Kiera Austin, Ash Brazill, Sunday Aryang and Sarah Klau all on court for the first centre pass.
Scotland’s movement in their circle kept our Aussie defenders on their toes, however the defensive duo of Aryang and Klau quickly shut their attack options down.
The Australian Diamonds have won their first two matches in Birmingham with a victory over Scotland.
After shooting at 92 per cent in her debut, Bueta came out with the intent to back that up and shot 11 goals from 12 opportunities in the first quarter. Every time her hand went in the air, everyone knew exactly where that ball was going to land.
The team entered the second quarter seven goals ahead, 17-10. Watson and Hadley’s interchange in wing attack allowed the Diamonds’ attack end to keep surprising their Scottish opponents.
Despite Scotland’s relentless energy, Australia always looked in control, forcing held balls and high-pressure turnovers.
Ash Brazill showcased her signature behind the back intercept and flick, adding some enticing flare to the team’s performance.
A 19-goal half time lead was extended to 33 goals heading into the final 15 minutes of the match, the Aussies’ speed truly unmatched.
Austin was relentless in both attack and defence, while Sarah Klau and Courtney Bruce’s deflections on the ball were elite.
Next up on the Australian Diamonds' fixture is South Africa.Steph Wood was brought on for the last quarter to force a turnover and goal conversion within the first 45 seconds of the quarter.
The Diamonds concluded the match with a brilliant Bruce turnover and 53-goal win, 83-30 the final score.
Bruce pinpointed where she felt today’s Diamonds success came from.
“I think just the connections between our attack end and our defensive,” she said.
“We’re hitting our hardest at both ends and get the ball across.”
Despite only playing the second half, goaler Cara Koenen shined as the team’s highest scorer with 36 scoring shots. Both her and Bueta achieved an impressive 97 per cent shooting accuracy.
Every Diamond has now experienced time on court across the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
With no scheduled match for Australia today, the anticipation builds to see which combinations head coach Stacey Marinkovich settles on for Monday’s game against South Africa.
