Thunder will now face the Hertfordshire Mavericks in the play-off semi-finals on May 28 - and the club will be full of confidence after seeing off the Wildcats in comprehensive fashion.

Thunder stormed into a 10-0 lead and never looked back as they brushed aside their Scottish rivals.

Kathryn Turner and young Alexa Collier excelled in their shooting duties after the team suffered yet another injury when Lynsey Armitage went down just before half-time and had to be substituted.

Performance

Armitage now joins Karen Greig, who has ruled herself out of any further action this season, but the club's younger players have already showed they are capable of stepping up to the mark this season.

Thunder mid-court player Jade Clarke said: "Having already secured our play-off place we were given licence to try new things today which we really enjoyed.

"It was great to get a run out ahead of our big game next week and our youngsters really proved themselves when they hit the court."

While Thunder still went on to beat the Wildcats, captain Claire Brownie thinks her side's performance was still praise-worthy.

Brownie said: "After a slow start Wildcats grew from strength to strength competing for every ball. The performance today augurs well for the future."

Head coach Denise Holland agrees: "Wildcats grew stronger through the game, proving that our talented youth have what it takes to compete well at Superleague.

"I am very proud of our squad performance today and am excited by the future."