WAIKATO Bay of Plenty Magic survived a late scare from the Northern Mystics to secure their first win on the board, claiming a six-goal victory (64-60) to complete the opening round of ANZ Premiership action. Some last minute changes from the Magic seemed to be exactly what the doctor ordered to withstand the onslaught and keep the Mystics at bay after leading majority of the match.

The Magic came out hungry with their attacking unit combining seamlessly to create a handy buffer. In her debut outing for new side Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, Caitlin Bassett wasted no time asserting her authority under the post to open the account while Chiara Semple adopted the anything you can do, I can do better mantra lighting up the court with deceptively quick footwork and scoring accuracy. A couple of wayward passes marred the first few minutes of the game from the Mystics, missing the hold of Grace Nweke under the post while the overall defensive intensity from the Magic was palpable. Temalisi Fakahokotau took like a duck to water in her new colours, controlling proceedings down back with her aerial presence causing all sorts of headaches.

Bassett continued to toil hard inside the goal circle for the Magic using her body and overall netball smarts to withstand the physical onslaught from the likes of Sulu Fitzpatrick. Some fancy footwork from Peta Toeava and long range shooting from Bailey Mes kept the Northern Mystics in the contest as they ate into the five-goal buffer. The issue however still lay with the delivery into Nweke with Toeava and Tayla Earle putting too much heat on the pass and forcing the young goal shooter to twist and turn along the baseline. Some running repairs on the goal post took centre stage with five minutes left on the clock in the opening term as both sides attempted to rectify the issue and event staff also getting involved.

Magic’s stifling defensive pressure continued in the second term as Erena Mikaere took advantage of her long limbs to swat the ball away and contest on the rebound against Nweke. The partnership between Toeava and Mes built with the duo playing with speed and precision to edge the ball closer to the post but the Magic retained their handy six-goal lead. The Mystics went on a five-goal spree sparked by an intercept from Fa’amu Ioane and a turnover from Fitzpatrick allowing them to get back within one goal. A sense of confidence started to spread across the court for the Mystics as their sure-fire connections came to the fore and quick ball movement started to cause headaches in defence for the Magic.

It boiled down to a battle of experience in the latter half of the term with Mes putting on a show both in the circle and out in the midcourt, picking up a huge intercept to once again reel the margin back to a goal. Down the other end it was the precision passing and spatial awareness from Grace Kara that came into play as she attempted to settle the Magic’s attacking unit. Searching for answers and the next gear to kick into, Khiarna Williams came onto the court in goal attack, replacing Semple and automatically inserting herself in the action. The game was played at a frantic pace with a wealth of ball being thrown over the sidelines and both sides struggling to find a consistent rhythm. A connection issue inside the circle for the Mystics saw Filda Vui enter the game at goal attack, immediately combining with Nweke to try and edge closer on the scoreboard.

The Magic proved they were not afraid to make a change despite holding the upper hand at half time with Georgia Tong pulling on the goal defence bib and pushing Mikaere back into goal keeper. An early turnover off Bassett gifted the Mystics a chance to capitalise and that they did with Nweke levelling the scores with just over 13 minutes left to play in the quarter. Toeava was relishing the extra space, particularly around circle edge with Georgie Edgecombe struggling to combat her strength and innate timing, not to mention her silky feeds into Nweke. This goal for goal style of play ensued for a couple of minutes but once again it was the Magic that broke away with Williams taking the reins in attack.

With the Magic getting away from them once again, the Mystics looked to the bench with Danni Gray attempting to shut down Kara in wing attack. The errors were coming quick and fast from both teams given the high intensity and pace of the game. But the wholesale changes kept coming for the Mystics with a reshuffle in the attack end hoping to provide them with more opportunities to score. A five-goal run to the Magic capped off the third terms as they simply could not be denied.

Sam Winders led the troops both in attack and defence with her hunt and tenacity especially around circle edge. Kate Burley started to work her way into the game for the Mystics getting timely tips back in goal keeper as they generated some handy momentum to pressure their opponents and force turnovers aplenty. The home crowd came into play, spurring the Mystics on every step of the way levelling the scores with 11 minutes to play. But the Magic showcased their class, able to settle and calm the flow of play to chip the ball around while also proving their confidence to make the appropriate changes as Semple and Fakahokotau re-entered the match with the latter taking a game changing intercept.

Nweke was down on her accuracy but still topscored nailing 49 goals from 58 attempts at 85 per cent, and while Mes did not have a huge impact on the scoreboard with six goals it was her playmaking abilities out the front that impressed, finishing with eight goal assists. Toeava had the ball on a string with a whopping 32 goal assists from 51 feeds, while Fitzpatrick was a rock in defence amassing five gains, two of which were intercepts. For the Magic, Bassett controlled proceedings with 36 goals at 88 per cent while both Williams and Semple contributed with 12 and 16 goals respectively.

NORTHERN MYSTICS 11 | 17 | 15 | 17 (60)
WAIKATO BAY OF PLENTY MAGIC 14 | 17 | 18 | 15 (64)

STARTING SEVENS:

Mystics:

GS: Grace Nweke
GA: Bailey Mes
WA: Peta Toeava
C: Tayla Earle
WD: Fa’amu Ioane
GD: Kate Burley
GK: Sulu Fitzpatrick

Magic:

GS: Caitlin Bassett
GA: Chiara Semple
WA: Grace Kara
C: Sam Winders
WD: Georgie Edgecombe
GD: Erena Mikaere
GK: Temalisi Fakahokotau