Sterling performances from stalwarts Megan Hutton and Daneka Wipiiti helped Southern Steel score one of their best victories of the ANZ Championship netball competition last night.
They beat the Perth's West Coast Fever 58-43 in Dunedin in a match they never looked in danger of losing from the moment Wipiiti popped in the opening goal.
They led 16-8 after the first quarter, maintained the margin, 28-20, at halftime, increased it to 42-29 in the third quarter and sealed it with a 15-point win.
Goal-defence Hutton perhaps had the biggest influence on her team's result as she continually hassled West Coast's shooters Caitlin Bassett and Bianca Franklin into errors.
If she wasn't taking vital intercepts of the ball being fed into the circle, Hutton rattled the shooters with her fine anticipation and vision.
She went off with a right ankle problem five minutes from the end but said later it wasn't serious. But then the Steel were home and dry -- 53-37.
At the other end Wipiiti, now a strong contender for a place in the Silver Ferns, scored 41 goals from 46 attempts. Julianna Naoupu shot 17 from 26,
Fever's Bassett scored 29 from 38, Franklin 8 from 12 and replacement Nikala Smith 6 from 7.
It was clear from the 10-6 turnovers in Steel's favour by the middle of the third quarter that it would be difficult for their Western Australian opponents to change the rhythm or the game.
Southern Steel 58 (Daneka Wipiiti 41 from 46, Julianna Naoupu 17 from 26), West Coast Fever 43 (Caitlin Bassett 29 from 38, Biance Franklin 8 from 12, Nikala Smith 6 from 7. Halftime: 28-20.
