Otago had been gearing up for a big effort after a lacklustre start left the province's title prospects a little shaky.
Had Wellington beaten Waikato in the team's final round-robin match yesterday, Otago would have had to have beaten Bay of Plenty by 25 goals to make the top four.
In the end, its 26-goal winning margin was an overkill.
Waikato came through for Otago, beating Wellington 59-53, and will play Auckland Waitakere in one semifinal today. Otago and Canterbury will meet in the other.
Canterbury beat Auckland Waitakere 54-53 to seal pole position and has only lost once this season.
It just happens that loss was to Otago which, after a slow start, is starting to find its rhythm.
"We knew the scenario before we stepped on court but we had been training as if we had to score plenty and it paid off," Otago coach Deb Tasi-Cordtz said. "There was heaps of belief today; it was great.
"I don't think any one individual had the most amazing game, it was more of a team effort.
"If anyone made a bad pass there was someone there backing them up or to swoop on loose ball.
"We were all over it. It was great team stuff."
Otago had the advantage of the late game yesterday and was relieved when Waikato beat Wellington, leaving the blue and golds a much easier task to make the playoffs.
The opening quarter was tight and Otago led 12-10 at the break.
But Otago outscored its opponent 16-5 in the second period to open up a generous buffer by halftime and stretched the lead by a further three goals in the third quarter.
Shooter Te Paea Selby-Rickit had the ball in her hands an awful lot, putting up more than 60 shots, for 49 goals.
Circle defenders Demelza McCloud and Storm Purvis generated plenty of turnover ball and the midcourt produced a slick performance.
The team's confidence took a knock early in the competition with a draw against Waikato and losses to Auckland Waitakere and Wellington.
But the win against Canterbury in Dunedin last month lifted the side and Tasi-Cordtzsaid if her side could have picked a semifinal opponent, Canterbury would have been high on the list.
"Our combinations and connections are really working well and I feel like we are peaking at the right time.
"I'd prefer to play Canterbury, actually, just because we know we've got one over them already this year. But there are no easy-beats in the top four."
The game starts at 4pm with live scoring on Netball New Zealand's website.
