The Southern Magpies remain undefeated after a strong 61-43 win over the South Pac Titans as the Dunedin premier competition resumed at the Edgar Centre on Saturday.
Southern was looking to continue its unbeaten start to the competition, while the Titans were wanting to get themselves clear of a mid-table logjam.
Magpies goal keep Tarryn Dickson pulled off repeated interceptions and made a mess of the attacking game of the Titans.
As a result, South Pac was forced to throw in long balls from deep to the circle as it struggled to find a way past the Southern defence. Errors in the attacking circle also did not help the Titans’ cause.
Magpies goal shoot Hannah Riddle-Pelchien had a few uncharacteristic misses in the first quarter but fought back to finish with a 75% success rate.
Southern led 16-7 after the first quarter and carried that momentum into the second, the lead growing to 10 goals.
Dickson was again highly disruptive in the circle, and the Magpies showed their ability to make full use of turnovers with a seamless transition from defence to attack.
A goal right on the buzzer gave Southern a 33-17 lead at halftime.
The Titans were not able to stick with the pace of the game, and while Southern was not as clinical in the third quarter, it was still able to push to a 49-28 lead.
The Magpies were able to get some bench players time on court as they eased to victory.
Physed B had a convincing 78-46 win over Otago Girls’, moving to third place on the ladder, while the schoolgirls lie marooned at the bottom.
Physed A produced a minor upset in beating College 65-54, leaving Southern as the sole unbeaten team in the competition.
The game between Physed C and St Hilda’s was postponed.
- Jack Ward
