Steel show their strength
Southern Steel picked up their second win of the season yesterday, defeating the Northern Mystics 67-48 at Trusts Arena in Auckland.
After suffering a shock first-up loss to Stars in their first encounter, the ANZ Premiership’s reigning champions have bounced back with wins against the Tactix and now Mystics to reassert themselves as one of this season’s favourites.
‘‘It’s been a big week for us,’’ Steel coach Reinga Bloxham said.
‘‘We’ve had three games in six days. So to be able to finish off like that, I’m pretty happy.’’
The Mystics are still looking for their first win of the season, having now been convincingly beaten twice.
‘‘There were moments of improvement, we’re just not consistent enough in our execution,’’ Mystics coach Helene Wilson said.
‘This loss wasn’t quite as heavy as the one to the Pulse last weekend and there was improvement in the shooting department, as both Bailey Mes and Jamie Hume started well. Australian import Kristina Brice wasn’t used, with Wilson preferring the Mes/Hume combination.
But the real problem for the Mystics is that they again lost the midcourt battle, making too many turnovers and couldn’t compete with the slick passing from the Steel.
There was some great play in the midcourt throughout the match from the Steel’s Shannon Saunders and Gina Crampton, while Te Paea Selby-Rickit at goal attack and Lenize Potgieter at goal shoot were superb.
For a while, the Mystics did show promise as Mes scored five goals in a row to pull the Mystics level, but a late surge from the Steel saw them take a 19-15 lead at the first break.
The Steel scored five of the first seven points in the second quarter and for the rest of the 15-minute period chipped away at extending their lead.
The atmosphere inside the arena went flat in the third quarter as the crowd became resigned to the fact that the Mystics were going to lose. The Steel outscored the Mystics 18-12 in that third quarter and won the last period 14-11 to confirm their domination.
There’s still a long way to go in the season and the signs aren’t good for the Mystics, but Wilson’s not reaching for any panic buttons.
‘‘There’s no point in worrying about the season,’’ she said. ‘‘You’ve got to worry about the process and doing the things you need to improve on each week.’’