The Magic will win the final. Nothing surer. But then both teams go by that moniker, so we did not examine the tea leaves too closely. The Mid City Magic will play the South Pac Magic in the women’s Dunedin A grade club final on Tuesday evening. Mid City are undefeated this season and they crushed South Pac 106-58 in their last encounter in July. The previous fixture was a much closer affair. Mid City posted a 73-60 win over their rivals in late May. Mid City trio Tai Pavihi, Zoe Richards and Alexa Duff are among the top scorers in the competition. Pavihi is averaging a league-leading 21.86 points, while Richards (17.71) and Duff (15) can be relied on to get the scoreboard moving as well. They will draw some defensive attention, which just creates opportunities for Maddie Kerr and Gabby Arnott, who are good for 10-12 points each. Abby Harris is a key defensive player for Mid City in the paint. Millie Simpson is the most productive scorer on the South Pac roster. She is averaging 16 points and was not available when the teams last met, so she will make a difference. Legacy Harrison poured in 22 points and Kiana Brown added 17 during that big defeat. Shanti Kara is a very capable scorer and seasoned guard Dayna Turnbull knows her way around the court. Mid City coach Alf Arlidge was expecting a close game despite the result last time. “I really think it will be a hard-fought final,’’ Arlidge said. “It is probably the first time they have all their players.’’ That said, Arlidge said his side were “quietly confident”. “We’ve set our goals for this year and what we want to do, obviously. And we’ve been playing really well.” They blitzed the Andy Bay Falcons in the semifinal, winning 105-40. Pavihi slotted a game-high 28 points and Richards and Harris added 17 apiece. South Pac dispatched Ajax 79-47. Turnbull (20 points) found her range from outside and Aria Brown banged in 18 points.
