IN their 150th encounter it was the Diamonds that reigned supreme over the Silver Ferns with a well-earned six-goal victory (48-42). Australia came out with a point to prove after a disappointing game one of the Constellation Cup, upping the intensity in defence and shutting down the New Zealand attack end. It was a relatively scrappy and low scoring game with both sides wrestling for momentum and forcing uncharacteristic turnovers, credit to the fast-paced nature of the game.

The Diamonds got out to a handy lead in the opening term with tall timber duo Gretel Tippett and Caitlin Bassett causing havoc in the attacking end. Tippett proved to be the difference, with the goal attack imposing herself both in defence and offence picking up a deflection early to go with seven straight goals. Laura Scherian got the start in wing attack, with the speedy midcourter opening up space with her dynamic movement and confidence on the pass. Scherian backed herself in the attacking third, hustling hard to hit the circle and delivering well-weighted passes into her goalers. After missing out on court time in game one, Courtney Bruce announced herself early using her speed, read of the play and physicality to disrupt the Ferns’ attack time and time again. She picked up two gains, one intercept and four deflections in the first alone, highlighting her defensive prowess. Maria Folau picked up where she left off with the experienced goaler unfazed by the physical nature of Bruce and despite being forced to shoot from range only missed one shot with seven goals from eight attempts. Veteran Laura Langman was crucial through the midcourt once again, using her strength to win the ball and feed it into the circle with six goal assists in the first term.

Australia steadily built on their lead in the second, playing with confidence down the court. Scherian started to tire midway through the second, credit to Katrina Rore working in overdrive applying strong hands over pressure and mirroring her every move, prompting Paige Hadley to enter the game in wing attack. Hadley worked well with Liz Watson through the midcourt, not skipping a beat with the two finding good space and looking into the circle to find an option under the post. Watson lifted her load in the centre third with her strong drives, clean hands and clever movement. Despite a couple of turnovers Tippett continued on her merry way, outscoring Bassett with nine goals straight displaying her ability to blow open a game. The defensive pressure applied by Karin Burger and Jane Watson intensified for the Ferns with the two contesting every pass and getting up to the high balls to create doubt in the feeders’ minds, notching up three deflections, one intercept and two gains between them. Up the other end, Bruce continued to be a thorn in the Ferns side denying easy access into the circle, swatting away passes and cleanly impacting the play, racking up another four gains and two intercepts.

Only up by five goals at half-time, the Diamonds maintained their composure and worked the ball around to edge out to a 10 goal lead before the Ferns mounted a late comeback, piling on six consecutive goals. both sides made a host of changes heading into the second half with Folau moving out to goal attack, Bailey Mes entering as goal shooter and Ameliaranne Ekenasio (8 goals from 11 attempts) moving to the bench after being well held in the first half. Folau and Mes found their mojo with the two using the space in the goal circle to separate the Diamonds defence and capitalise. Mes brought a new element to the Ferns attacking end with her athleticism and aerial ability. Sarah Klau entered the game in goal defence using her height and hands over pressure to block Folau’s vision and while it took a while for the connection to click with Bruce she won her fair share of ball with three gains, one intercept and two deflections. After a stellar first half, Tippett found herself on the bench and replaced by Tegan Philip who injected plenty of speed and accuracy in the attacking third while Ash Brazill moved to the bench midway through the term as Jamie-Lee Price took the court. Youngster Whitney Souness was influential in wing attack for New Zealand with her well-timed drives, silky footwork around the circle edge and ability to help out defensively, picking up one intercept and two gains.

With the final quarter underway the Silver Ferns threw everything at the Diamonds with the defensive pressure increasing as the term went on. Coach Lisa Alexander proved she was not afraid to pull the changes, bringing on Jo Weston and Scherian throughout the term with the two providing fresh legs. Another new combination of Philip and Tippett under the post worked wonders with the two moving seamlessly, finding form quickly to create plenty of Diamonds momentum. Langman kicked it up another gear running up and down the court, contesting every pass that came her way while Burger and Watson tried gallantly in defence. But the Diamonds stuck strong to run out with a hard-fought win in Lisa Alexander’s 100th test cap as coach.

Bruce was named MVP after amassing 12 gains, five intercepts, nine deflections and five rebounds while Tippett showed her skill with 23 goals from 24 attempts at 96 per cent. Folau was the top scorer with 31 goals from 41 attempts at 76 perc ent proving that accuracy was the main cause of the Ferns’ problems in game two.