Three from three for Steel
THE Southern Steel has had an unbeaten weekend in Otaki.
After beating the WaikatoBay of Plenty Magic on Friday, it claimed 5348 and 7049 preseason wins over the Central Pulse and Northern Mystics respectively.
On Saturday, the Steel pulled away from the Pulse after a slow start. It dropped the first quarter 138, before holding that deficit for a 2520 score at halftime.
Steel coach Reinga Bloxham said it had taken the Steel a while to adapt to the Pulse’s style of play and her side had lost its timing.
However, it got its connections going in the second half and took a 3837 lead at threequarter time. It then extended the lead to five at fulltime.
Yesterday it had a similarly slow start against a Mystics team that had three shooters ruled out the night before. That forced it to bring in two newcomers, both of whom Bloxham said performed well given the circumstances.
The Steel held a 1413 lead at the end of the first quarter, which it extended to 2923.
Bloxham suggested the team may have been a bit tired early, playing its third game in three days. However, the team finished strongly, pulling away to a 5235 lead at the end of the next quarter.
The only casualty of the weekend was Te Huinga Reo SelbyRickit, who hurt an ankle on Friday night.
It was expected she would be back well in time for the first game of the season on March 26.
Bloxham was happy with the weekend, having tried out various combinations and gotten everyone on the court.
In particular, it had been good getting rookie Jennifer O’Connell chances at both goal shoot and goal keep.
‘‘I think [the weekend] just provided some challenges for the girls to adapt their game play as well.
‘‘So mentally I think it was quite a good challenge for them, as well as physically having to back it up each day.’’
Bloxham said there was still things to work on and she would look to continue establishing connections at a higher intensity.
She said it was also important the team did not get comfortable within its familiarity and added variation to its game.
It will resume training tomorrow and have a final preseason hit out against the South Beko League team in Invercargill on Sunday.