Lightning beat Panthers to extend 100% startImage source, Roosevelt DavisImage caption, Loughborough Lightning face second-placed Manchester Thunder in their next match on 4 AprilByAdwaidh Rajan, BBC Sport journalist and Phil Cartwright, BBC Sport journalistPublished27 March 2026Updated 57 minutes agoLoughborough Lightning extended their 100% start to the Netball Super League season with an 83-69 victory against bottom side Birmingham Panthers.Samantha Wallace-Joseph scored 35 goals for Lightning, who have won their first five matches to establish a three-point lead at the top of the table.”It can be hard [being unbeaten] because all the teams are coming for us,” the Trinidad and Tobago goal shooter told BBC Sport.”It’s just about keeping our consistency going, gelling together and executing the game plan.”Panthers have lost their first five league matches of the campaign, each by a margin of at least 10, but they put up their biggest tally of goals in a match this season in a performance that pleased head coach Sonia Mkoloma.”It wasn’t just the biggest score – I thought we stayed in it for longer,” Mkoloma told BBC Sport.”We were competitive across four quarters, which we haven’t been, so I’m proud of them. I asked them to be competitive in this game and they stayed in it.”Watch the whole game: Loughborough Lightning v Birmingham PanthersNetball Super LeagueSaturday, 28 MarchWatch on iPlayer
