A NAIL-biting finish saw Mainland Tactix pip the Northern Mystics at the post in an overtime thriller last night, 64-63. It was a tight contest throughout, with neither side willing to give an inch and both teams relying heavily on the accuracy and volume of their goal shooter under the post. But in the end it was the composure of Silver Ferns and Tactix goaler Te Paea Selby-Rickit that came to the fore sinking the winning shot for the home side.

Back in front of their home crowd for the second consecutive week, the Tactix came out with a point to prove as Ellie Bird immediately opened proceedings with a strong take under the post and a quick conversion. It was not long until rival goal shooter, Grace Nweke levelled the scores equally impressing with her aerial capacity and strength to reel in the high looping passes. The game went goal for goal for majority of the term as neither side could pull away and gain any sort of momentum credit to the immense defensive pressure all the way down the court. Samon Nathan had her eye well and truly in, delivering pinpoint passes into both Bird and Selby-Rickit as she hit circle edge with pace and kept Fa’amu Ioane guessing.

A costly turnover midway through the term from the Mystics provided the Tactix with an opportunity to switch into attack and score to open up a handy buffer. The Tactix piled on four goals straight, creating some much needed scoreboard separation which they held onto throughout the remainder of the term as the front-end really started to hum and kept the likes of Sulu Fitzpatrick and Kate Burley on the backfoot. The duo could not afford to leave Bird unattended at the post but at the same time had to put in a wealth of work to limit the impact of Selby-Rickit out the front as the Tactix shooting pair were on song early.

Down by three goals at quarter time the Mystics came out with a real fire in the belly as Nweke levelled the scores nailing three goals in just over a minute. Peta Toeava came to life, threading the ball into Nweke as their connection started to warmup forcing the likes of Charlotte Elley out in wing defence to up the ante. With scores all tied up it was once again Selby-Rickit that stepped up to the plate converting off the centre pass to steady the ship. But the Mystics would not be denied going on another mini three goal run, but this time Bailey Mes injected herself into the contest landing her first goal of the game, after an inaccurate opening term.

The Mystics really started to motor, finding their momentum across the court and using their signature speed to slice through the Tactix defence and keep Jane Watson and Karin Burger off the scent down back. Toeava’s precision passing was undeniable and forced Watson and Burger to constantly reposition and double-team Nweke under the post. the visitors snuck out to a four goal lead midway through the term before the Tactix put a halt to their attacking momentum. Bird and Selby-Rickit fell off the boil with consecutive misses before the latter found her groove once more. In fact, Selby-Rickit nailed four of the last five goals of the quarter to overtake the Mystics who had dominated the entire quarter.

After an enthralling opening half of netball, players and fans alike were gearing up for a bumper second half. Nweke was unstoppable under the post, not missing a single one of her 17 shots while Mes increased her workload out the front for the Mystics. Tayla Earle was her usual dynamic self, impressing with her two-way running and hot hand to dish off cleverly and well-weighted passes into Nweke who was simply on fire. Burger and Watson had no answers for the young goal shooter who was beating them in the air credit to her strength and leap.

The Mystics really turned the screws as the Tactix’s fluidity in attack dried up with Selby-Rickit rendered incredibly inaccurate forcing Bird to shoulder the load inside the goal circle. Just as Earle kicked it up a gear, so too did Kimiora Poi as their battle intensified through the centre, working in overdrive to give their respective side a much needed edge. But in the end it was the Mystics that had the last laugh as they strung together as they nailed six of the last 10 goals of the quarter to take a four-goal lead into the final break.

Having been so close for so long the Tactix were not prepared to let this slide through their fingers. Both sides opted to stay with their same lineup for the final 15 minutes of the game with the Tactix digging deep to steadily eat into the margin. The home side shut down the connection between Toeava and Nweke and looked to attack as Watson came up with a highly important gain to gift possession back to the Tactix. Sinking three consecutive goals saw the Tactix back within striking distance and they did not stop there, tying things up with less than two seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime for the first time this season.

With three minutes of overtime to be played, Nweke struck first to give the Mystics plenty of belief before Selby-Rickit once again levelled the scores. The atmosphere was palpable as both sides looked to treasure possession and capitalise off their centre pass. A game-changing error from Mes all but gifted the Tactix with the win as the Mystics goal attack broke at the centre pass and the Tactix flew down the court to seal the deal.

Bird finished with 44 goals from 53 attempts at 83 per cent while partner in crime Selby-Rickit had a more profound impact to post sinking 20 goals but at a lowly 69 per cent. Nathan led the way with goal assists racking up a team-high 23 while Selby-Rickit and Poi were hot on her heels with 15 apiece. Nweke was her usual dominant self for the Mystics posting 59 goals from 63 attempts as Mes failed to fire under the post with a mere four goals. Toeava once again was the connection between the midcourt and goal circle racking up 23 goal assists while down in defence Fitzpatrick worked relentlessly to finish with five deflections, three gains and two rebounds.