The Giants are still the queens of Sydney after overcoming a six-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the NSW Swifts 59-56 on Saturday evening.
Following a 58-53 win in the opening round of the year against the Swifts, the Giants looked to be in trouble in the second instalment as they trailed at every break.
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The Swifts led 46-42 at three-quarter-time and then 48-42 minutes into the last term but a flawless quarter from Giants shooters Jo Harten and Susan Pettitt saw the women in orange mow down their rivals to record another important NSW derby win.
Harten finished with 36 goals from 38 attempts, while Pettitt was equally impressive, scoring 23 from 24 against her old team.
"I thought it was a really, really high-quality game and neither team was giving up the ball too easily," said Giants coach Julie Fitzgerald. "The quality of netball tonight was pretty exceptional. The Swifts certainly weren't giving up any ball.
"I thought the shooters combined very, very well. Possibly the best they have combined. They weren't on top of each other too often."
The night could have easily been the Swifts', with goal shooter Sam Wallace nailing her first 27 attempts before finishing with 35 from 37.
Swifts wing attack Paige Hadley was actually named player of the match despite the three-goal defeat.
"At the end of the day, their experience probably won out in the end in some really key moments," said Swifts coach Rob Wright. "It's about trying to maintain that composure."
Meanwhile, the win marked Fitzgerald's 200th National League victory as her side extended their position at the top of the ladder with win six from seven starts.
It was even more impressive given they were without captain Kim Green due to injury.
"I forgot about that [milestone]," Fitzgerald said. "Numbers don't mean a lot to me, I've been around long enough. It's nowhere near as valuable as the two points.
"And we all know one player [Green] cannot make a team and everyone else has to do their job. It is nice [to win without her] but it's certainly not the reason we won.
"Whenever you come from behind and win a game like that under such pressure – because everything we did was pressured by the Swifts – that does leave you with a lot of confidence."
The Swifts had a prime opportunity to salvage their season but blew a chance to rack up win No. 2 of the season.
The rivalry may only stretch back to the start of the season but the ferocity at which this contest was played indicated there was just as much on the line as any other match.
With the two teams desperate for wins after both falling last round, it was the Swifts who raced out to an early lead.
The Giants led by as many as four goals in the opening term but it was the Swifts who had revenge on their mind with a blistering first quarter to go ahead 16-13.
The Swifts' sharp shooting continued into the second term, however the Giants were able to orchestrate far more turnover ball to go ahead slightly.
Giants goal shooter Harten's spatial awareness was spot on as she consistently asked questions of the NSW defence, scoring 15 goals in the second term.
However, it was the Swifts that edged their noses in front 31-30 at the half-time break.
A five-goal run in the third quarter propelled the Swifts to a narrow six-goal lead heading into the last term but it wasn't enough as the momentum swung the way of the Giants in what was a particularly sweet victory in front of a healthy crowd at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre.
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