THE Magic kicked off their season in style with a six-goal victory over Southern Steel 54-48. Playing in front of an empty stadium due to the coronavirus outbreak the home court advantage was all but stripped away with the Steel on the back foot from the opening term thanks to Waikato Bay’s hot start. While inaccuracy seemed to plague both sides throughout the match, it was the visitors who proved too strong in the end.

With Te Paea Selby-Rickit no longer amongst the fold, recruit Kalifa McCollin made her debut in the goal circle for the Steel but did not get off to an ideal start, only managing two goals from four attempts. While McCollin struggled to have a profound impact under the post, partner in crime Jennifer O’Connell led the way with eight goals from 12 attempts at a lowly 67 per cent accuracy. On the other hand, the Magic seemed to have no issues when it came to conversion thanks to Kelsey McPhee. The goal shooter made light work of the opposition, finding plenty of space in the circle especially along the baseline given her height and strong holds with nine goals from 10 at 90 per cent. Both centres came out with a real fire in the belly racking up five goal assists a piece, thanks to their similar attacking styles. Ariana Cable-Dixon was electric through the midcourt finding McPhee with ease on the hold while Shannon Saunders used her ball speed to cause havoc for the defenders.

Struggling to generate any real scoreboard pressure, the Steel made a change in the goal circle with youngster Georgia Heffernan making her way onto the court in the latter stage of the quarter. Her height, silky movement and connection with O’Connell had an immediate impact slotting two goals straight. Through the midcourt Gina Crampton upped the ante with the wing attack taking the bull by the horns and owning the attacking third. Crampton showcased her class with ball in hand, able to slice through the defence and find the shooters under the post with a team high seven feeds for the term while her work at the transverse line was equally as impressive with nine centre pass receives. Te Huinga Selby-Rickit played a huge role in tipping the goal scoring tally to their favour with three gains, one intercept and a rebound ultimately helping to nullify McPhee under the post. With McPhee receiving a wealth of attention Abigail Latu-Meafou tried gallantly to lift the load with her three goals at 100 per cent but it was not enough with Steel ultimately cutting the deficit to three at half times.

After reducing the lead heading into the main break the Steel were up and about in the third term working hard to win the ball and make the most of their chances. They changed things up defensively with Selby-Rickit making her way off the court late in the term despite her impressive efforts of three gains, two rebounds and two deflections with Abby Erwood making a brief appearance to provide some fresh legs. Kate Heffernan got some minutes into her, with the wing defence playing out the quarter and imposing herself with one gain and one intercept. However, the battle between Heffernan and Whitney Souness was intriguing with the latter using her speed and dynamic movement to have an impact for the Magic’s frontend amassing four goal assists from nine feeds highlighting her precise ball placement and good vision. Taneisha Fifita was the only one unchanged in the Steel defensive unit in the third quarter and while she did not have an overly dominant performance managed three deflections and a pick-up.

With the game there to be won, newcomer Erena Mikaere sensed the moment and capitalised with three gains, one deflection and two rebounds. The goal keeper stood tall in the defensive circle swatting away errant passes and propelling the ball back down the court while wing defence Sam Winders plied her trade out the front, putting up a strong wall with her three gains, one intercept and three deflections. The increased defensive effort of the Magic gave them the edge in the last quarter keeping O’Connell well held and while McCollin re-entered the game it was not enough to claim the win.

McPhee proved to be one of the most prolific shooters in the clash with 35 goals from 43 attempts at 81 per cent accuracy for Magic, while opposing goal shooter O’Connell also managed 35 goals but at a lesser percentage sitting at 70 per cent. The contributions from the goal attacks seemed to be the main difference between the two sides with Latu-Meafou able to find the net easier with 19 goals from 27 attempts at 70 per cent, while both McCollin and Georgia Heffernan combined for 13 goals.