Pressure on Pulse key for SelbyRickit
TE Huinga Reo SelbyRickit is out to dictate terms tonight.
The Southern Steel goal defence knows as well as anyone what the Central Pulse’s teenage shooting duo are capable of.
Aliyah Dunn and Tiana Metuarau shot an impressive 62/67 three weeks ago, as the Pulse beat the Steel 6251 and snapped a 22match winning streak. Since then the Steel has had two wins, although the Pulse has been flying high and remains unbeaten.
Now the two topofthetable sides do battle for a second time tonight in Porirua.
The team had identified what went wrong in the loss and there were plenty of components to focus on tonight.
For SelbyRickit, though, one key will be in the way the defensive unit shuts down what is a deadly attack.
‘‘Probably put a bit more pressure on them,’’ she said of the plan.
‘‘I think [in the previous game] we were a bit loose and let them kind of dictate to us what they wanted to do.
‘‘We need to flip that and put a bit more pressure on them.
‘‘They’re young, so maybe that kind of harder pressure — having a body on them at all times — could frustrate them.
‘‘But I think for us it’s getting the ball early.
‘‘You get the centre pass 60odd times in a game. If you can take the centre pass there’s no need for the rest of it.
‘‘So getting the ball early and putting the pressure on early and, hopefully, they make some mistakes and turn over the ball and we’ll be good.’’
It had been a slow start from the Steel last time the teams met, which set the tone for a tough night.
That made for ugly reading on the scoreboard at the final buzzer, but the side was not as far away as it seemed.
Having reviewed the game film, SelbyRickit said the Steel was close to doing what it needed at times and had some key focuses this time around.
‘‘The personal turnovers, personal errors that all of us made in that game, they were so silly.
‘‘Dropped balls and just mistiming and misthrowing passes, stuff that we can definitely fix.
‘‘But I guess that comes with the pressure they put on us at the time.
‘‘So for us it’s about keeping calm and trying to keep your head clear and trying to make your best decision at the time.’’
With Jane Watson’s departure, SelbyRickit had been adjusting to pairing with newcomer Courtney Elliott and youngster Abby Erwood, who has stepped into a bigger role.
She was enjoying developing the links which could help them operate as a unit to create intercepts.
Tonight would be a tough challenge and she admitted the Pulse was playing ‘‘very, very well’’.
However, she also knew the Steel was capable of winning and the side was excited to get back on the court, having not played since Monday last week.