Stars taught harsh lesson by slick Steel
The Northern Stars were given a tough lesson by the Southern Steel on what it takes to be a contender in the ANZ Premiership last night.
The Steel thrashed New Zealand’s newest professional sporting team 73-51 at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau to move to the top of the ladder.
In a competition with just six teams, the gulf between the sides is astonishingly big.
The Steel, Magic and Pulse already look like being the ones who’ll make it to the playoffs, the Mystics are the next best, while the Stars and Tactix will be fighting it out for the wooden spoon.
This was the fifth straight win for the unbeaten Steel and they had too much class in every department for the Stars to cope with.
Not that anyone could be critical of the effort the Stars put in, but this was a mismatch.
It took just three seconds for the Steel’s Jhaniele Fowler-Reid to score the opening goal of the game, but the Stars were able to stay in contention though the opening five minutes.
The tactic of putting pressure on the Steel through the midcourt did briefly pay off, but halfway through the first quarter, the Steel had managed to get a four-point lead. From there they were unstoppable.
The Stars weren’t able to keep up the intensity they started the game with and by the end of the first quarter the Steel were up 22-12, game over as contest already.
At halftime it was 42-23 to the Steel, who showed no signs of letting up, or showing any mercy on their opposition, who were struggling to keep hold of possession.
Fowler-Reid was almost faultless over the first 30 minutes, with 30 goals from 31 attempts, while the Stars’ goal shoot Maia Wilson was 16 from 18 attempts, that’s a good strike rate, but her teammates weren’t able to feed her enough ball.
At times it was almost festival netball from the Steel, with the players throwing quick, long range passes to leave the Stars floundering.
Fowler-Reid and goal keep Jane Watson were benched for the start of the second half, as the Steel coach Reinga Bloxham chose to rest her key players.
The Stars actually won the third quarter 15-12, but with a 16-point lead the Steel knew they could see out the game in cruise mode.
Fowler-Reid and Watson came back for the fourth quarter and the Steel were once again the dominant team, winning that final quarter 19-13.