Watson brings up her 150th as Tactix finish strongly for a win
The Tactix survived a roller-coaster contest to beat the Stars 59-54 and make it two wins from two at the start of their Premiership season.
Following their 17-point defeat of the Steel in round one, the Tactix saw off a more resolute challenge on Sunday from the Auckland-based Stars — again in Christchurch — just pulling clear in the dying stages after a tense goal-for-goal battle throughout the final quarter.
A decent win looked on the cards for the Tactix after they opened up an eight-goal advantage shortly before the half-time break, but the Stars charged back in the third quarter, scoring seven unanswered goals at one stage to lead by four.
The scores were level 43-all heading into the final stanza and it was only a couple of late turnovers that swung the contest in favour of the hosts.
Tactix captain Kimiora Poi was relieved they rediscovered what worked best for them in the closing stages.
“Very proud of the fightback that we brought, and we didn’t let them get a bonus point, which is crucial,” Poi told Sky Sport.
“I think we got a bit stagnant on attack and got kind of caught wide and they were just picking off those wide balls.
“And we just didn’t get enough ball on ‘D’ in that (third) quarter.”
It was the 150th championship match for Tactix defender Jane Watson, having played 108 times for the Christchurch-based outfit and 42 for the Steel.
Up front, fill-in shooter Ellie Bird carried most of the Tactix shooting workload, sinking 47 of 51 shots in an impressive display covering for an injured Aliyah Dunn.
A high point for the Stars was the debut of goal shoot Summer Temu, who entered the game in the second quarter and finished with a perfect 20 from 20 shots.
The younger sister of Australianbased former Silver Fern Ellie Temu, Summer said she was delighted to play in the circle alongside Stars captain Maia Wilson (31 from 38), the player she admired most coming through the netball ranks.
It was a second loss for the Stars, who opened their Premiership campaign with a seven-goal defeat against the Pulse.
The Mystics had a chance join the Pulse and Tactix with two-from-two records when they took on Steel in Invercargill last night to complete the second round of matches.