Steel gets up in another thrilling match against Tactix

Wendy Frew
Wendy Frew
These two teams sure know how to play an exciting game.

It took until the final minute for the Southern Steel to breath easy, emerging with a hard-fought 59-56 win over the Mainland Tactix in Invercargill last night.

There have been two other last-minute thrillers between the sides this season.

This time, however, it came with extra value.

The Steel has secured a playoff spot and is well-placed - although not confirmed - to claim a home semifinal.

Aside from the first quarter it led most of the game, although rarely by more than three goals.

Turnovers plagued the Steel early, although it became more patient and composed as the game went on.

Defensively it came up with a timely play every time it needed one.

Rookie goal defence Courtney Elliott was particularly brilliant, snaffling several key intercepts.

Steel captain Wendy Frew - playing her last home round-robin match - was happy with the result, although was left disappointed with the performance.

``It's good to get the two points and get a win over the Tactix. They're a quality side,'' she said.

``But to be honest, it wasn't our best performance.

``We had a lot of turnovers - we had 10 in the first quarter. That's half what we'd want in a whole game, so [I'm] disappointed with that. We'll have to go back to the drawing board there.''

The Tactix defensive duo of Temalisi Fakahokotau and Jane Watson proved disruptive and made it tough for the Steel feeders.

Frew agreed they did a good job, although felt the quality of the Tactix extended right through the court.

She also felt many of the Steel turnovers were soft ones and that was something the side would look to work on.

That helped the Tactix jump out to a 13-8 lead, Ellie Bird using her size to provide a target close to the goal at the other end.

Elliott and Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit battled well, though, coming up with enough ball to ensure the turnovers were not all costly.

That left the Steel trailing 17-14 at the first break, but a good start to the second quarter evened things up at 19-19.

From there the Steel had to work hard to take the lead.

Elliott proved instrumental on the defensive end, pressuring Bird into several misses and holding the Tactix to 10 goals.

On attack, the Steel had to be patient, stringing together pass after pass to feed its shooters.

That remained difficult, although it eventually took the lead at 25-24 on a Te Paea Selby-Rickit shot.

It extended that lead to three, then had it reduced to one, before extending it again to lead 30-27 at halftime.

The Steel started the third quarter well to make it 33-28, although soon found it tied at 35-35 again.

Shannon Francois came up with a crucial intercept to help the Steel open up a three-goal gap midway through the third quarter.

However, the Tactix fought back and it took another intercept from Elliott late in the quarter to give the Steel a 45-43 lead at the final break.

From there the Tactix stuck around, but the Steel never fell behind, executing well to stay in front and emerge with a crucial win.

 

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