Latest news with #MainlandTactix
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Steel keep playoff hopes alive with win over Magic
Give her space and Georgia Heffernan will punish you. The Southern Steel goal attack was superb gliding through court, cutting hard and sinking shots to help her side to a 65-56 win against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Invercargill this afternoon. It was a commanding performance to back up a season-defining one-point victory against the Central Pulse five days ago. It keeps the Southerners' playoff hopes alive with two round-robin games remaining and pushes them in to third spot in place of the Pulse – who still have to play the Mainland Tactix tomorrow – for now. It was the Steel's third consecutive victory – the first time they have won back-to-back-to-back since July 2021. Knowing she has a dominant shooter under the post in Aliyah Dunn has given Heffernan the chance to flourish this season. The goal attack finished with 21 points – including a two-pointer – and two gains, while Dunn slotted 43 points. Kimiora Poi was the general in the ever-changing midcourt, providing stability with an outstanding 50 feeds. It was a collective performance from the Steel to grind away and extend their lead at every break. But they lost the final quarter 17-11 and will be disappointed to have let the Magic back in. The Steel made a strong start when Kate Heffernan snaffled a cross-court ball off the Magic's centre pass. The Magic sat back in a box defensively, forcing the Steel out wide and slowing up their entry into the circle. But the Steel showed their patience and Dunn found the body to post up under the goal. Poi positioned herself nicely on the circle edge. She found the depth in the pocket, rolled her body to find the space and her connection to Dunn was second to none. Magic shooter Saviour Tui put her body on the line and was strong on the take to help the Magic trail 15-13 at the break. Georgia Heffernan took a brilliant intercept off the Magic's centre pass – and she made sure of it at the post. They took three passes to get to Dunn off their next centre pass to jump to an 18-13 lead. Georgie Edgecombe's guard deflected the feed into the Steel's circle, helping the Magic pull back the score. Ameliaranne Ekenasio was direct around the top of the circle, pulling a defender away from the post to open things up for Tui. Just when it felt as though the Magic were going to edge ahead, the Steel put their foot down and broke out to a five-point lead again. Tui drained the first two-pointer of the game – but from there, things started to unravel for the Magic and the Steel led 33-25 at halftime. The Steel clogged the middle channel, forcing the Magic to look for a second option. But Tui held high to leave the baseline free for Claire O'Brien to pop a lovely ball through to her shooter. The Steel kept ticking away, scoring off their centre pass and working the ball around their attackers. The Magic struggled to pick up ball or disrupt the Steel's patience to wait for the opening. The home side pushed ahead to an 11-point lead midway through the third quarter, as Dunn dominated space through there. Georgia Heffernan punished with a two-pointer to finish the quarter and give the Steel a 53-38 lead. Stythe grew into the game, picking up five gains and limited options into the circle Defender Georgia Tong mounted the Magic's comeback with a brilliant intercept to close the gap to 10. Tui followed with consecutive two-pointers, but it was not enough to snatch a win.
Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Steel move to third with win over Magic
Give her space and Georgia Heffernan will punish you. The Southern Steel goal attack was superb gliding through court, cutting hard and sinking shots to help her side to a 65-56 win against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Invercargill this afternoon. It was a commanding performance to back up a season-defining one-point victory against the Central Pulse five days ago. It keeps the Southerners' playoff hopes alive with two round-robin games remaining and pushed them in to third spot in place of the Pulse – who still have to play the Mainland Tactix tomorrow – for now. It was the Steel's third consecutive victory – the first time they have won back-to-back-to-back since July 2021. Knowing she has a dominant shooter under the post in Aliyah Dunn has given Heffernan the chance to flourish this season. The goal attack finished with 21 points – including a two-pointer – and two gains, while Dunn slotted 43 points. Kimiora Poi was the general in the ever-changing midcourt, providing stability with an outstanding 50 feeds. It was a collective performance from the Steel to grind away and extend their lead at every break. But they lost the final quarter 17-11 and will be disappointed to have let the Magic back in. The Steel made a strong start when Kate Heffernan snaffled a cross-court ball off the Magic's centre pass. The Magic sat back in a box defensively, forcing the Steel out wide and slowing up their entry into the circle. But the Steel showed their patience and Dunn found the body to post up under the goal. Poi positioned herself nicely on the circle edge. She found the depth in the pocket, rolled her body to find the space and her connection to Dunn was second to none. Magic shooter Saviour Tui put her body on the line and was strong on the take to help the Magic trail 15-13 at the break. Georgia Heffernan took a brilliant intercept off the Magic's centre pass – and she made sure of it at the post. They took three passes to get to Dunn off their next centre pass to jump to an 18-13 lead. Georgie Edgecombe's guard deflected the feed into the Steel's circle, helping the Magic pull back the score. Ameliaranne Ekenasio was direct around the top of the circle, pulling a defender away from the post to open things up for Tui. Just when it felt as though the Magic were going to edge ahead, the Steel put their foot down and broke out to a five-point lead again. Tui drained the first two-pointer of the game – but from there, things started to unravel for the Magic and the Steel led 33-25 at halftime. The Steel clogged the middle channel, forcing the Magic to look for a second option. But Tui held high to leave the baseline free for Claire O'Brien to pop a lovely ball through to her shooter. The Steel kept ticking away, scoring off their centre pass and working the ball around their attackers. The Magic struggled to pick up ball or disrupt the Steel's patience to wait for the opening. The home side pushed ahead to an 11-point lead midway through the third quarter, as Dunn dominated space through there. Georgia Heffernan punished with a two-pointer to finish the quarter and give the Steel a 53-38 lead. Stythe grew into the game, picking up five gains and limited options into the circle Defender Georgia Tong mounted the Magic's comeback with a brilliant intercept to close the gap to 10. Tui followed with consecutive two-pointers, but it was not enough to snatch a win.
Otago Daily Times
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Heffernan vows to return
Kate Heffernan. Southern Steel co-captain Kate Heffernan will miss more rounds of the ANZ Premiership after hyperextending her knee. Heffernan, who missed the opener against the Mainland Tactix on Sunday, hurt her knee at training last week but is expected to return this season. Steel physio Stacey Allan said there was a robust recovery plan and Heffernan was making "positive progress" as they worked towards her return. While disappointed, Heffernan said her focus was on getting back on court. "Unfortunately, injuries are one of the realities of elite sport, but that doesn't make it any less heartbreaking not to be able to get out there with my team," Heffernan said. "We have all worked incredibly hard during the preseason and deserve to reap the rewards of that now the competition has started. "Watching from the sidelines definitely fuels my determination. I will be following the expert advice of our medical team to the letter and doing everything in my power to play as soon as I get the green light, but I know I have to be patient." The Silver Fern travelled to the Steel's opening game in a leadership role. "Naturally I want to be out there playing my part, but I have the utmost faith in our entire squad to get the job done regardless of who is wearing the bibs." The Steel head to Hamilton to play the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic on Monday.
RNZ News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
ANZ Premiership: Injury-riddled Northern Stars too strong for Mainland Tactix
Paris Lokotui in action for Mainland Tactix. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ Injury-riddled Northern Stars have proved too strong for Mainland Tactix, leading for all but the opening 12 minutes to prevail 57-52 in their ANZ Premiership encounter at Auckland's Pulman Arena. The home side led by as many as 10 points in the final quarter, before a flurry of two-point goals in the final minutes, narrower the eventual margin. Towering Aussie shooter Charlie Bell dominated at the attacking end for the Stars, converting 40/44 (90.9 percent) attempts at goal, including three from long range. At the other end, Martina Salmon slotted 36/43 (83.7 percent) for the Tactix, but the Stars defenders also proved effective, with goal defence Liviwa Tokaduadua grabbing five of their seven intercepts. The Stars lost several players to injury during a torrid home derby against Northern Mystics last week, with former Silver Fern Kayla Johnson summoned from retirement to help fill the void. Johnson logged 16 minutes at wing defence across the third and fourth quarters. The result leaves both teams with a win and a loss from their two rounds, trailling the defending champion Mystics, who have two wins. Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic host Southern Steel in Hamilton on Monday, both still searching for their first wins of the season. Follow all the action with RNZ's live blog:
RNZ News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
ANZ Premiership live updates: Stars v Tactix
Paris Lokotui in action for Mainland Tactix. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/ While Mainland Tactix had a positive start to their campaign last weekend with a win over Southern Steel, Northern Stars lost their derby match with Northern Mystics in convincing fashion. Play starts at 4pm. Follow all the action with RNZ's live blog:
