SEVERN Stars head coach Mo’onia Gerrard was proud of her side after they beat Sirens 54-44 in the Vitality Netball Superleague.

Stars blew the Scottish outfit away with a stunning third quarter performance on Monday night which saw them open up an eight-point lead.

Sirens could not recover from that as the hosts clinched their second win of the season to the delight of the home crowd and boss Gerrard at the University of Worcester Arena.

Gerrard said: “We’ve massively improved in terms of intensity and consistency over the four quarters.

“It’s something that we’ve been training for and trying to make it work on court.

“That was a good, consistent four quarters. We’ve had quarters in previous games where we’ve slumped and were down by a huge amount.

“There are still moments where we do go back to our old selves, so we do really need to keep ourselves in check. But I’m proud of the girls.”

In front of the Sky Sports cameras, Stars edged ahead midway through a fast-paced first quarter, with attacking pair goal shooter Afeisha Noel and goal attack Eleanor Cardwell putting them three points ahead.

But Sirens grew into the game and bagged five points without reply to edge themselves ahead for the first time, and lightning-quick passing in the attacking third allowed them to push the lead to 14-10.

But Stars rallied and, through a series of clever attacking moves of their own, brought the score back to 14-13 at the end of the first quarter.

After a frantic opening, both sides struggled to grab a foothold in the game in a cagey second quarter.

Stars managed to pull level after a crucial interception by goal defence Rebecca Oatley enabled Cardwell to net, before Noel bagged another to edge the hosts back in front.

But the momentum again swung in the favour of Sirens, who clawed themselves back into the game and went into the half-time break leading 26-25.

Stars seized the initiative and came out firing in the third quarter, storming ahead to build an eight-point lead through an impressive attacking display orchestrated by wing attack Iona Darroch and centre Laura Malcolm.

Stars continued to frustrate Sirens and their slick attacking play was matched by a solid defensive performance, with the home side thwarting several attacks to limit their opponents to just seven points in the third quarter, with the score 41-33.

The visitors tired as they chased the deficit, and Stars were able to see out the final quarter in a professional performance.

Their best play came from the impressive Malcolm whose devastating long-range pass found the dominant Noel who netted again under pressure.

Stars will be hoping to record back-to-back victories when they travel to Team Northumbria on Saturday (6pm).