Dunedin's national championship hopes are over after it lost its quarterfinal 77-29 to host Wellington yesterday.
While former Silver Ferns shooter Irene van Dyk did not play, Wellington was still stacked with quality players, including Central Pulse midcourter Elias Shadrock, Pulse shooter Ameliaranne Wells and Steel defender Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit.
Dunedin battled hard to trail by just four goals after the first quarter, but Wellington stepped things up in the second to lead 31-18 at halftime.
The deficit ballooned out to 56-24 after a dreadful third quarter, in which Dunedin managed just six goals, and had coach Deb Tasi-Cordtz thinking her team was up against more than seven players.
''It almost felt like they had 10 players against us at one stage,'' she said.
''They were very sharp; there were not many gaps out there. It was a really tough day at the office today.
''They were on point with everything. It wasn't so much we played badly; they were just a pretty classy team.''
Dunedin shooter Jennifer O'Connell continued her fine week, shooting 19 from 23 attempts, while goal attack Jamie Hume connected on eight of her shots.
Tasi-Cordtz was again pleased with her team's shooting, but said it struggled to get the ball through the midcourt to provide her shooters with opportunities.
''The way Wellington played today, I don't think there would have been many teams that would have come close to them today,'' Tasi-Cordtz said.
''That team was mostly Pulse players. It's really good for our young team to be up against it and they will learn from it.''
Dunedin will now play off for fifth eighth, and will meet Hamilton at 4.30pm today, the winner qualifying for tomorrow's fifth and sixth playoff.
North Harbour and Auckland and Christchurch and Wellington will meet in today's semifinals.
