Mystics looking to seal spot in finals

THE Northern Mystics are within touching distance of clinching a spot in the ANZ Premiership semifinals, but one job remains.

They take on the Tactix in their final regular season game in Auckland today and it should be a pretty straight forward win for them.

However, this is sport and there’s always that possibility of an upset.

The Mystics’ thrilling 59-58 triumph over the Magic last Monday was the win that virtually got them into the playoffs.

Defender Storm Purvis said that victory was a great achievement, but knows there’s still a lot more to achieve this year.

‘‘It’s not so much the job done, because we know what’s ahead,’’ Purvis said.

‘‘It was like a little molehill done and now we’ve got a mountain to face in terms of the semifinal hopefully, against the Pulse and then a massive mountain, which would be the Steel in the final.

‘‘There was some elation after the Magic win, but it was short lived because it was straight onto the next job.’’

A loss by five or less would give the Mystics the competition point they need to make the playoffs, but a win should secure a home semifinal, given that the Pulse have a tough game against the Steel this round.

Although the Mystics should beat the Tactix, Purvis says they’re not taking it for granted.

‘‘It’s a tough one because they [Tactix] have obviously had some performances they might be disappointed in,’’ she said.

‘‘I know they’ll come back fighting after their loss against the Steel [last Wednesday] and that’s a game they probably feel they should have taken.

‘‘You can’t underestimate the Tactix, they beat the Stars and they beat us, so any team on any day can come out firing and we’re looking at how to combat Ellie Bird, their goal shooter, who’s come on and shot some really impressive numbers.

‘‘It won’t be an easy one, they never are.’’

Purvis’ form this season has mirrored that of the Mystics, a slow start but improving over the campaign.

She had to overcome a knee injury which limited her game time, but her minutes on court have increased over recent weeks.

‘‘It’s important to peak at the right time,’’ she said.

‘‘I’ve been in teams in the past where we’ve played really well at the beginning of the season and then everyone else has got better and we haven’t.

‘‘So it’s good to see that the whole team is improving and hopefully in a couple of weeks, that’s when we’re really peaking and can out the final.’’