Rampant Pulse stun Steel
Let’s wait until they get through back-to-back matches against the Northern Mystics before we start comparing this year’s Central Pulse team to last year’s Southern Steel.
While there is a lot to like about the Pulse, who continued their perfect start to the season by smashing the
Steel by a record score of 71-40 at Te Rauparaha Arena last night, replicating Steel’s unbeaten 2017 campaign is going to need something super special from Yvette McCauslandDurie’s team.
But you cannot deny that the Pulse are the best team in the competition right now, even if they are yet to square off against the Mystics and Northern Stars.
They have earned that tag by starting the season with a franchise-best 5-0 record, a streak that now includes two victories over the defending champions.
While last night saw the Pulse beat the Steel for just the eighth time in 24 meetings, this one was their most emphatic yet. Their 31-goal victory is now the biggest winning margin in the Pulse’s 11-year history, easily surpassing the previous record of 19.
If the game wasn’t already decided after the first quarter, with the Pulse up 21-9, it certainly was by halftime. There was no coming back from 38-17 down as Katrina Grant and Sulu Fitzpatrick suffocated the Steel attack, limiting their three shooters to a combined score of 40 from 56 attempts.
Compare that to 18-year-old Pulse goal shoot Aliyah Dunn, who shot 50/54 in another statement making performance against her former team.
But she wasn’t the only star last night, with the entire Pulse Central Pulse 71 (Aliyah Dunn 50/54, Ameliaranne Ekenasio 12/19, Tiana Metuarau 9/12)
(Jennifer O’Connell 21/26, Te Paea SelbyRickit 18/27, Olivia Bates 1/3) Q1: 21-9, HT: 38-17, Q3: 53-31
10 (5), Tactix 7 (5), Steel 6 (5), Mystics 6 (5), Magic 3 (4), Stars 2 (4)
Southern Steel 40
Points (games played): Pulse