Loughborough Lightning’s netball stars are sharpening their skills ahead of next week’s televised encounter with Team Bath, which is being shown live on Sky Sports on Monday 21st December.

New Loughborough captain Jo Harten admits that the Cooperative Superleague fixture “Could go either way.”

The 20-year-old England shooter replaced fellow international Jade Clarke as captain over the summer and the Loughborough University student led her young charges to a narrow defeat against Leeds Carnegie at the weekend.

Loughborough lost out in a battle that went down to the final quarter, with just five points separating the teams at the final whistle as Loughborough lost 47-42.

Harten believes the team learnt a lot from the game and have the potential to improve over the course of the season.

“It was a really good match for the first game of the season and has given us a solid base to build on. It was a closely fought, tight game and we’ve taken a lot of lessons from it.

“It was the first time we’ve played for an hour as a seven on court and for some of the girls it was their first match in the Superleague. We’ve only been training together for six weeks so we’re still learning how everyone plays. Every minute we play on the court is important in building our experience as a team.”

The Bath match is one of the team’s toughest matches of the season and Harten is expecting a tough battle in front of cameras at Loughborough University’s Sir David Wallace Sports Hall.

“Everyone’s really looking forward to the Bath match. Our games are always close and both squads know each other really well. We beat them in the national BUCS student finals last year, but they beat us in Superleague.

“Like us, they’ve made quite a lot of changes to their squad for this season with three of their England internationals leaving, so it’s going to be a really interesting fixture. They’re obviously title contenders so it’s a good chance for us to see where we’re at.”

20-years-old and in her third season for Lightning, Harten is one of the more senior members of a squad characterised by its youthfulness. The year ahead will provide an important opportunity for the team to gel and gain experience, though Harten still believes they can make an impact in the Superleague.

“We have to aim to make the play-offs. There are four positions available and I believe we’re capable of making it. We’re a young team but I think that gives us something different to offer the league.

“We’ve got a strong base to build on for the next two to three years. Our players are young and fresh and they’re the ones that are likely to be at the top of the Superleague in the years to come.

“It’s going to be a really exciting season. You can’t predict anything this year. We’ve got a bunch of talented raw players, probably the most exciting group in England right now and, especially against a team like Bath, you never know what’s going to happen.”

Monday’s match kicks off at 7.30pm and is the Lightning’s first home fixture of the Cooperative Superleague. The game will be played at Loughborough University’s Sir David Wallace Sports Hall and the Lighting U19 talent team will also be in action against Bath from 5.30pm.

Tickets are being offered on a buy one get one free basis and cost £6 for adults and £4 for concessions. Supporters are encouraged to turn out in Christmas-themed fancy dress with prizes on offer for the best outfits. For more information call 01509 226250 or log onto www.loughboroughlightning.com

For more information contact Loughborough University Sports PR Officer Amanda Overend on 01509 228686 or email a.j.overend@lboro.ac.uk

Loughborough Lightning is a Superleague netball franchise owned by Loughborough University, with support from East Midland Netball. The franchise is based at the University and the team is made up from current students, Loughborough graduates and regional players.

The Co-operative Superleague is made up of the top nine teams in England, Scotland and Wales who compete for the most prestigious Championship of them all. Shown weekly on Sky Television the league is the pinnacle of Netball within England.