Steel Continue Their Winning Climb

Scoop

8 hours ago

Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel stretched their winning streak to three when compiling an impressive win over AVIS Magic to open Round 8 in Invercargill on Saturday.
With both teams still well in contention for the Finals Series, the Steel continued their momentum to grab third place outright for the time being while denying the Magic the opportunity to grab valuable points.
Coming into the match after securing back-to-back wins as opposed to the Magic's back-to-back losses, the Steel picked up from where they left off, exerting their extra overall polish across the opening three quarters to hold the Magic at arms-length for much of the outing.
The Magic finished strongly with a last quarter flurry to win the final 15 minutes 18-11 but being outplayed across the first three-quarters, it was a case of too little too late.
The Steel enjoyed 10 more attempts at goal with mainstay shooter Aliyah Dunn rock-solid under the hoop when providing a handy day's work and converting 43 from 45.
The Steel made the sharpest of starts to build an early lead through their flow and accuracy on attack. That was well supported by shooters Dunn and Georgia Heffernan who converted every opportunity that came their way.
The Magic halted a four-goal run from the home side to come back into the game well. Stiffer defensive efforts paid off while the movement and athleticism of shooters Saviour Tui and Ameliaranne Ekenasio kept the contest close.
It was shooting accuracy which proved the difference at the first break, the Steel leading 15-13 after nailing all their opportunities and the Magic missing two after both had equal attempts.
Each side delivered exciting passages of flowing play at times on the resumption but as the respective defences tightened up, there was more strategy required and playing the ball around before the openings occurred.
This opened the door for defensive opportunities to break the goal-for-goal impasse and it was the Steel who pounced with telling effect.
The intense pressure employed by Carys Stythe and Abby Lawson under the Magic hoop resulted in turnovers while at the other end Dunn and Georgia Heffernan continued their recent strong form.
The pair shared the load expertly and intuitively in feeding off each other with Dunn producing a standout first half through her positioning, pin-point shooting and rebounding ability.
The Magic had their moments but were unable to stem a storming finishing from the home side, whose ability to disrupt and grab extra opportunities paid dividends when they completed a strong second spell when heading into the main break with a 33-25 lead.
In a similar pattern to the previous quarter, the Steel made impressive impact in the latter stages of the third.
With Ali Wilshier and Claire O'Brien delivering perfect ball into Tui, the Magic initially stayed in touch with their southern opponents but their ability to sustain and execute was eventually found wanting.
The relentless focus from the Steel's defensive patterns and easier through-court transition meant there was no let-up for the Magic with misguided passes and inaccuracies taking a toll. Lacking the same efficiency and accuracy the visitors were left playing catch-up.
Dunn and Georgia Heffernan continued to stamp their mark at the Steel shooting end with Kimiora Poi marshalling the attack end in an impressive overall team effort.
Relishing their dominance, the Steel rattled in the goals to keep building on an advancing scoreline when they led 53-38 at the last turn.