TeamBath suffered their first Co-operative Superleague defeat for almost two years when they went down 43-40 in nail-biting contest at top of the table Surrey Storm on Friday (29th January).

It was TeamBath’s first defeat since March 2008, when they lost their end of season play-off match.

Storm are many people’s pre-season favourites after recruiting a string of England internationals from TeamBath’s ranks – and Rachel Dunn, Tamsin Greenway and Geva Mentor all played the full game against their former team.

For their part, TeamBath featured Pamela Cookey, Eboni Beckford-Chambers and Stacey Francis, all members of the England squad facing Australia later this month.

Storm raced away to an early 8-1 lead in the contest at Guildford, but TeamBath clawed their way back to be just two goals down at 12-10 at the end of the first quarter.

TeamBath started the second quarter strongly and soon established a 14-12 lead, before Surrey again got back on top, going into half-time at 24-20.

The two teams shared the spoils at 9-9 in the third quarter to set up a grandstand finale in the final quarter. TeamBath ended the game strongly, taking the final quarter 11-10, but had left it too late to topple Storm.

“I’m always disappointed when we lose, but I was also really encouraged by some of what we did against Storm,” said Jess Garland, TeamBath’s head coach. “We’ve continued our policy of developing young players this season and we’re still getting better and better. I’m sure there’s a lot more to come from us this season.

“The good things we did were really good and the game could have gone either way.

“In a way this result is likely to take a bit of pressure off us – no team can keep a 100 per cent record forever. This could be the very thing that makes us better,” she added. “’I’m confident next time we meet Surrey we can turn the result around.”

TeamBath return to action on Saturday (6th February) with a trip to Leeds Carnegie, who are currently fourth in the Superleague table. Their next home fixture sees them take on Glasgow Wildcats at the University of Bath Sports Training Village on Friday 12th February at 7.30pm.

For ticket information for TeamBath’s home games please go to the Co-operative Super league page on the TeamBath website athttp://www.teambath.com/netball/netball-performance/co-operative-superleague/

Quarter scores v Surrey Storm (TeamBath second): Q1: 12-10 Q2: 12-10 (24-20), Q3: 9-9 (33-29) Q4: 10-11 (43-40)

TeamBath starting seven: GS Asha Tett, GA Pamela Cookey, WA Sasha Corbin, C Jo Binns, WD Serena Guthrie, GD Stacey Francis, GK Eboni Beckford-Chambers. Bench: Gemma Fletcher, Lindsay Keable, Amanda Trounce, Rosie Allison, Kirsty Delves
Q4 changes: Binns to WA, Corbin to C. Q4 injury time out change: Beckford-Chambers to GD, Francis to GK.
Shooting stats: Pamela Cookey 19 from 23 (83 per cent), Asha Tett: 21 from 29 (72 per cent)

The University of Bath has one of the leading university sports departments in the UK. Under its TeamBath brand, its success is based on the expertise and dedication of staff, and its excellent facilities, used by the community and Olympic medal winners alike.

Members of the media who require further information can contact the TeamBath Press Office at Matchtight Ltd on (01225) 383518 or 01225 443998 or see the TeamBath website at www.teambath.com