Tactix pip Magic for first win At a glance
The Mainland Tactix will hope this is the result that kick-starts the season.
Widely touted as ANZ Premiership favourites in pre-season, the Tactix finally earned their first win of 2021 with a heart-stopping
63-59 win over the Waikato-Bay of Plenty in Christchurch last night.
After losing their opening three games of the season, the Tactix were in desperation mode in their home opener in front of just under 3000 at Christchurch Arena.
Goal shoot Ellie Bird stepped up for the Tactix after an inconsistent first three games, landing
54 from 55 in a player of the match performance.
Bird was superb, showing what she is capable of when she is dialled in and keeps her composure.
The Magic gave it everything and could have easily nabbed the win in a pulsating final quarter. Australian shooting legend Caitlin Bassett also delivered in the attacking end after some subpar play the past two weeks.
Bassett had one of her strongest performances since joining the Magic, converting 45 from 48 – an effort that would have encouraged Australian coach Stacey Marinkovich.
It was a nailbiting second half with little separating the sides on the scoreboard in what proved one of the most entertaining games of the young season.
A 3-0 run from the Magic allowed them to push out to a four-goal cushion at 45-41 with four minutes left in the third quarter – their biggest lead of the game.
The Tactix counter-punched with a strong patch of play of their own, scoring five unanswered goals to jump ahead 48-47 in the closing stages of the third quarter.
Midway through the last quarter, the Tactix seized the initiative with a critical 4-0 burst, which enabled them to build a 57-54 buffer with seven minutes left.
The Tactix had to overcome Te Paea Selby-Rickit leaving the court with cramp with six minutes to go but managed to cling on to their slim lead to win 63-59.
In the earlier match in Auckland, the Stars look every bit ANZ Premiership title favourites.
The south Auckland side continued its excellent start to the season, overcoming the Southern Steel 59-45 to make it four wins from four.
This is easily the best start to a season for the Stars, who were formed in 2017 for the first year of the New Zealand premiership.
They are well on track to shatter their record for most wins in a season, winning six round games in 2019 when they progressed to the grand final, losing to the Pulse.
The 59 goals scored by the Stars was their most this season from four games.
One of the rare disappointing aspects was the accuracy of Silver
Ferns goal shoot Maia Wilson. Wilson converted 33 goals but would have been frustrated with her accuracy, missing 10 attempts and shooting at just 77 per cent – well down on her normal percentage, usually in the 90s.
Playing against her former Steel team-mates, Silver Ferns wing attack Gina Crampton again led the way for the Stars with another polished performance. The 47-test Fern has been in brilliant touch to begin the new season. She has been the standout player of the opening four weeks.