LOOKING for their first win since the ANZ Premiership season restart, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic were on song from the get-go but it was Southern Steel that starred clinching a one goal win (41-40). Their increased intensity and hunger for the ball was evident maintaining a full four quarter effort to overrun the Magic and secure their second win of the season. Without goal shooter Jennifer O’Connell the Steel took a while to click in attack, but once they did they proved hard to stop with the Magic struggling to generate turnover ball.

The opening quarter was filled with plenty of pressure with the Magic bursting out of the blocks thanks to none other than Sam Winders. The Magic captain got the nod at centre and did not disappoint, immediately into the action with a deflection and pick-up to give her side the first shot at goal but Te Huinga Selby-Rickit answered the call with an intercept of her own. Youngster Kiana Pelasio found her rhythm in the goal circle, sinking the first of the afternoon before the Magic piled on the pressure to open up a four goal lead. The shooting combination of Kelsey McPhee and Abigail Latu-Meafou worked wonders with the latter working in overdrive to create scoring opportunities whether it be at the hands of McPhee or herself.

Up the other end, Pelasio was forced to do the heavy lifting for the Steel with Kalifa McCollin well covered by the Magic defensive unit. But the Steel fought their way back into the contest cutting the margin to one goal, as the accuracy of Latu-Meafou and McPhee started to waver thanks to the increased pressure. As the quarter progressed the Steel grew with confidence not afraid to look long into the circle and bypass the mess through the midcourt to provide McCollin with first use of the ball. The influence of Shannon Saunders was undeniable with the centre getting hands to ball and imposing herself with her three foot marking to collect two gains and an intercept. With turnovers galore for both teams the Magic managed to steal a one goal lead heading into the break.

Kickstarting the second quarter with the centre pass the Steel made the most of their chances to draw even and then hit the front thanks to their increased defensive pressure. They started to find their rhythm in the goal circle with McCollin and Pelasio rotating the circle well and keeping Erena Mikaere and Georgia Tong busy at the post with their constant movement. Kate Heffernan impressed for the Steel nullifying Whitney Souness with her three foot marking to block her view into the goal circle. With the Steel maintaining some control Latu-Meafou did all the heavy lifting for the Magic in attack nailing 10 goals from 12 attempts. A big rebound from Mikaere allowed McPhee to level the scores once again as the long bomb into the circle paid dividends for the Magic but a huge shuffle in positions saw Tong move to the bench and movement down the court too with Ariana Cable-Dixon coming on in wing attack. With just over a minute left in the term scores were level showcasing just how intense the game was.

After throwing the bibs around in the second quarter, the Magic reverted to some normality with Cable-Dixon finding herself back in centre. Latu-Meafou continued to do damage in the goal circle cutting along the baseline while Souness struggled to find her mojo, over-cooking a couple of passes into McPhee. The Magic goal shooter looked uncomfortable throughout the game with her heavily strapped knee seeming to cause discomfort each time she landed. Struggling in attack the Magic defence increased their intensity pushing the shooters high and forcing them to play the ball around but that did not seem to worry the Steel, going on a three goal run midway through the term and opening up a handy lead.

But it was the injection of Ellen Halpenny that really sparked the Steel with the goal shooter composed under the post allowing McCollin to roam free out in her preferred position of goal attack. Halpenny slotted in seamlessly, taking like a duck to water and combining with Gina Crampton in the attacking third to hit the scoreboard time and time again. With the attacking unit humming the Steel held onto their three goal buffer while the Magic attempted to find some rhythm in the goal circle with youngster Khiarna Williams replacing McPhee in goal shooter. She had an immediate impact finding the net straight away but it was not enough to quell the Steel who opened up a four goal lead.

With time ticking down the Magic made inroads scoring the first goal of the final quarter and then capitalised on a turnover with a goal to slice the margin to two goals. Williams led the way in attack as the Magic got back within one goal with the teenager oozing confidence and netball smarts. A costly footwork call from Cable-Dixon allowed the Steel to extend their lead to four goals and reclaim some composure but the Magic were not done yet cutting it down to one goal again, but fell agonisingly short.

McCollin was the main target for the Steel throughout the game with the Trinidad and Tobago product nailing 24 goals from 30 attempts at 80 per cent while the ever reliable Halpenny was potent in her quarter and a half of netball with nine goals straight. McPhee struggled to have her usual impact only slotting 10 goals from 14 attempts at 71 per cent while Latu-Meafou showcased her range to finish with 22 goals at an impressive 92 per cent. Defensively Mikaere was strong collecting 7 gains while for the Steel the efforts of Selby-Rickit did not go unnoticed picking up two gains and one intercept.

>>> STEEL PAGE

>>> MAGIC PAGE

>>> FULL STATS

STARTING SEVEN:

Southern Steel:

GS: Kalifa McCollin
GA: Kiana Pelasio
WA: Gina Crampton
C: Shannon Saunders
WD: Kate Heffernan
GD: Te Huinga Selby-Rickit
GK: Taneisha Fifita

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic:

GS: Kelsey McPhee
GA: Abigail Latu-Meafou
WA: Whitney Souness
C: Sam Winders
WD: Holly Fowler
GD: Erena Mikaere
GK: Georgia Tong