The Southern Steel have wrapped up their ANZ Premiership season with a 61-55 victory against the Northern Stars in front of a loud Stadium Southland crowd.
It might not have been the prettiest win, but the Steel finish fourth on the ladder, their highest finish since 2022, with a record of five wins for the season.
Leading 45-43 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Steel let the Stars come back to level the score in the opening minutes.
But defender Carys Stythe put that momentum to bed with a big outside arm tip and returned a three-point lead to the Steel.
Abby Lawson took her feet through the ball and came up with the intercept of the game.
Then the Stars were reduced to six players, after taking too long with an injury replacement, and the Steel pounced to extend to a seven-point lead.
Georgia Heffernan was superb for the Steel with her crafty court work and Stythe was massive at the back with five deflections, three gains and two intercepts.
Earlier, the Steel sat back in a defensive box, pushing the Stars attackers out wide.
But it opened up when Tori Kolose fired a nice ball through the middle to captain Maia Wilson, who held her ground strongly.
It helped the visitors claw back to a level score midway through the opener.
Remi Kamo and Aliyah Dunn battled under the post for position and Kamo started to cover Dunn’s every move.
That brought Georgia Heffernan into the game more, cutting around the top and going to the post.
Just as the Stars looked to take the lead, Renee Savai’inaea picked the pocket on the circle edge.
The Steel chewed up the last 20 seconds on the clock and Heffernan nailed a two-pointer on the buzzer for the Steel to lead 14-10.
Kimiora Poi did a power of work in the midcourt for the Steel. She cut hard to the top of the circle and found some nice placements on her feeds.
Mila Reuelu-Buchanan was everywhere in the midcourt for the Stars and provided quality ball for her shooters.
But Stythe made her job hard. The defender caused all sorts of problems for the Stars attackers and had a physical test with Wilson.
Lili Tokaduadua went for a fly and picked up a screaming intercept to level the game 18-18 midway through the second.
Wilson’s hold opened up the 45 angle for her feeders and the Stars defence tightened up.
Still the Steel ground away and found some nice passages to their shooters.
But the second quarter belonged to the Stars, winning it 18-14, to level the scores 28-28 at halftime.
Savai’inaea, an underrated cog in the Steel midcourt, picked the pocket to open the third, but the Steel squandered the opportunity again.
But the Steel started to set better structures on attack, and Dunn held better space in the circle to let the ball go to her.
Stythe’s defence over Crystal Maro’s shot was impeccable, holding her ground as the young goal attack stepped in.
Penalties built from frustration crept into the game from both teams as only one point separated them.
The Steel went on a run giving them a four-point buffer but yet again the Stars closed the gap ahead of the two-point time.
Lawson snaffled a crucial rebound and made quick work of bringing it through court.
But Wilson nailed a two-pointer at the end of the third for the Stars to trail 45-43.
ANZ Premiership
The scores
Southern Steel 61
Aliyah Dunn 42 (42/43), Georgia Heffernan 19 (17/26).
Northern Stars 55
Maia Wilson 50 (47/49), Crystal Maro 5 (5/9), Marie Hansen 0 (0/2).
Quarter scores: Southern Steel 14-10, 28-28, 45-43.
