It was a case of different week, same result — almost exactly — for the Southern Steel yesterday.
The side claimed a 63-60 win over the Northern Stars in Christchurch on the ANZ Premiership’s second Super Sunday.
That came just a week after a 63-61 thriller between the same teams, which also went the way of the Steel.
This time the Steel had a buffer, making for a slightly more comfortable final couple of minutes.
That did not stop the Stars putting the pressure on late, though.
After trailing by five goals for most of the fourth quarter, they got the score back to 60-58, before the Steel closed out the win.
It was symptomatic of the way the game was played.
The Steel looked brilliant at times, but was unable to pull away.
An even first quarter had the teams locked at 18-18, before the Stars came out firing.
Their defence was quick to pounce as turnovers crept into Steel’s game.
That paved way for the Stars to jump out to a 27-23 lead nine minutes into the second quarter.
Indeed the Steel only took five shots in the first eight minutes of the quarter, three of them coming within a minute of each other.
At the other end, the Stars were able to cash in and for nine minutes the attack operated clinically.
To top things off for the Steel, goal keep Courtney Elliott was forced from the court with an ankle injury, being replaced by Abby Erwood.
However, the Steel fought back.
Goal defence Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit was at her disruptive best, coming up with a several intercepts and deflections. The goals dried up for the Stars, while the Steel attack became slick and efficient.
Its connections began to click as the side easily wove its way through the defence to get the ball to its shooters.
Once there it made few mistakes.
O’Connell and Te Paea Selby-Rickit combined to shoot 15/16 for the quarter, the majority coming in a brutal 10-3 run in the final five minutes.
It went to halftime with a 33-30 lead and extended that to 40-33 after the break.
The Stars fought their way back to within four, although the Steel remained in control at 50-45 heading into the fourth quarter.
That quickly closed up in another momentum swing towards the Stars and the duo of Maia Wilson and Ellen Halpenny brought the Stars back to 51-50.
That was very nearly 51-51, but a crucial miss by Wilson off the centre pass preserved the Steel’s lead.
It got the rebound and swiftly found O’Connell at the other end to restore a two-goal lead.
When Te Paea Selby-Rickit scored off the ensuing centre pass, that became 53-50.
More importantly momentum was back with the Steel and it worked its way back to lead by five, a gap too much for the Stars to overcome.
The Steel plays in Christchurch again tonight, against the Mainland Tactix.
• The South Beko League team was beaten 51-45 by the Northern Comets, a 15-7 first quarter proving its undoing.
ANZ Premiership
The scores
Southern Steel 63
Jennifer O’Connell 37/44, Te Paea Selby-Rickit 26/29.
Northern Stars 60
Maia Wilson 38/46, Paula Griffin 12/14, Ellen Halpenny 10/13.
Quarter scores: Q1 18-18, Q2 15-12, Q3 17-15, Q4 13-15.
