Varsity A beat Ajax 1 49-48 in the final round-robin game in the Dunedin women's winter league on Tuesday night.
A scrappy start from both teams led to a low-scoring opening. Varsity, in particular, missed plenty of early opportunities to post a good lead.
Ajax finished the stronger of the two teams in the first quarter, stepping up the defensive pressure and forcing Varsity to lose its offensive rhythm, and led 11-6 at the first break.
The students forced their way back into the game, equalising early in the second quarter as they picked up the pace in transition and started to dominate the defensive rebound count.
Ajax's lead was down to one point at halftime.
The intensity and physicality stepped up in the second half as both sides put their bodies on the line.
Ajax forward Natalie Smith continued her strong form in the post, making the most of her height advantage as she top-scored with 19 points.
However, Varsity would not back down, with Claudia Flaws having a strong impact on both offence and defence as her side took a one-point lead into the final quarter.
An up-and-down final quarter featured multiple lead changes, with Ajax's Aleisha Ruske controlling the pace on offence for her side.
Varsity led by one with 23 seconds remaining and had possession, but a five-second inbound violation handed Ajax the ball.
However, a wayward pass along the baseline dashed Ajax's hopes and Varsity was able to cling on for the win.
In the other games, Magic A beat Ajax 2 72-41 and St Hilda's beat Varsity B 42-28.
by Jaimie Keay
