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University-Albion A secured first-round honours when it beat Southern A 56-48 in the Dunedin premier competition on Saturday.
Both teams went into the game unbeaten and on paper it looked to be an even match-up.
In the opening quarter, both teams settled into the match, with neither making any inroads.
The score line reflected this, with Southern leading 17-15 at the first break.
However, in the second quarter Uni-Albion turned up the heat and closed down the attack play of Southern.
This tactic unsettled the youthful Southern shooting duo of Te Paea Selby-Rickit (goal attack) and Kate Shearer (goal shoot), who attempted only 12 shots at goal and netted eight to Uni Albion's 22 attempts for 19 goals.
At halftime Uni-Albion led 34-25.
Southern made a change in the shooting circle, substituting Grier Campbell for Shearer.
This change enabled Southern to bounce back to take the quarter 13-10 and trail 38-44 going into the final quarter.
Uni-Albion made no changes to its line-up throughout the match.
Regular wing defence Kat Dimitrievski played at goal defence, with Louise Thayer at goal keep.
This defensive pairing played a pivotal role in Uni-Albion's success.
In other matches, Phys Ed A took until the final quarter to subdue an energetic Uni Albion B 42-28, while Phys Ed B faces a promotion-relegation match with Premier B round one winner Phys Ed Phedex tomorrow night, after it lost to Southern B 53-38.
Central Pulse recorded its sixth loss on end in the ANZ Championship on Saturday, beaten 56-44 by Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Rotorua, but regained some much-needed pride with a vastly improved effort, NZPA reports.
A third-quarter Pulse blow-out, which enabled the Magic to win the 15-minute spell 16-6, put the result beyond doubt after the Pulse trailed 25-28 at halftime.
Down 31-44 at the three-quarter mark, the Pulse showed real grit for the first time this season to fight right to the final whistle and actually won the final quarter 13-12.
- Lana Morrison