Steel Come From Behind For Crucial ANZ Premiership Points
With their season on the line, the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel have scrapped to a crucial one-goal win over Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse earning maximum points for a move up the ladder.
But it took everything from their squad to come from behind for the 58-57 victory over the Pulse at TSB Arena in Wellington, handing the hosts their third straight loss.
Just one spot in the ANZ Premiership finals series remains free with the Tactix and Mystics having already sewn up two, currently holding down first and second place on the ladder with a points margin to ensure they will feature in the play-offs.
The Steel, who now move into fourth place, went into the match knowing that nothing less than victory was needed to stay in the hunt for a top three spot and they continually surged against a Pulse team also looking to rediscover some form with only three games remaining in the regular season.
Producing her best performance of their campaign, Steel goal attack Georgia Heffernan was instrumental in the result including landing a key two-point play in the dying minutes of the match and putting in a high work-rate both inside and out of the shooting circle.
The Pulse looked to have grabbed the initiative in the deciding stanza and when Steel wing defence Renee Savai'inaea was suspended for late and dangerous play midway through the spell, many would have expected the hosts to march on.
But in an indication of the ebbs and flows of the game, the Steel stepped up and hurried the Pulse into errors as the intensity lifted another notch – mammoth tussles across the court producing plenty of great moments.
The Steel well-and-truly buried the 25-goal loss they suffered to the Pulse in Round 4 as both teams brought the desperation for maximum points as the business end of the season looms – the Pulse's defensive efforts helping them to a stronger start on the scoreboard, as they showed greater connections up front to jump out to a 5-2 lead.
Overcoming their early wobbles, the Steel settled into their work against the smothering Pulse defence, showing patience to work the ball into Aliyah Dunn particularly with goal keeper Kelly Jackson hunting outside of the circle for the hosts.
The disconnect up front from the Pulse has been evident in recent weeks but both Tiana Metuarau and Maddy Gordon rediscovered their links to Amelia Walmsley in the opening stanza.
The Pulse shooter was a key target as the hosts edged further ahead – the quick release, including 20 long feeds during the first quarter, into Walmsley proving difficult for the Steel to halt.
While Walmsley landed the lion's share of the Pulse's points, the shooting load was evenly shared between Dunn and Georgia Heffernan in the Steel circle and the visitors went into the first break trailing just 14-16.
Georgia Heffernan picked up from her first quarter efforts on the resumption of play as the Steel hit the front on the scoreboard for the first time and forced the Pulse into personnel changes with Gabi Simpson replacing Fa'amu Ioane at wing defence and the hosts snatching back a slim advantage.
With five goals the difference, thanks to a messy patch of play from the Steel, the visitors used a timeout for a double change on defence with Kate Lloyd and Abby Lawson injected into the game.
It did little to stem the flow of ball into Walmsley, who despite blemishing her accuracy record under the hoop, was still the main scorer for a Pulse team which enjoyed a six-point buffer heading into the super shot period of play.
But knowing that nothing short of a win would suffice, the Steel surged again and a two-point buzzer beater from Georgia Heffernan left the visitors down 30-34 at halftime.
Carys Stythe returned action for the Steel after the break, but the Pulse feeders continued to drive into the pockets for an easier sight of Walmsley as a six-point margin again opened up.
But a timeout was needed from the Pulse as the Steel's niggle started to take its toll and at the midway mark of the stanza the hosts pounced on two unforced errors to take some control heading into the deciding spell with a 50-41 lead.
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