The Southern Steel goal attack was superb gliding through court, cutting hard and sinking shots to help her side to a 65-56 win against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Invercargill this afternoon.
It was a commanding performance to back up a season-defining one-point victory against the Central Pulse five days ago.
It keeps the Southerners' playoff hopes alive with two round-robin games remaining and pushes them in to third spot in place of the Pulse – who still have to play the Mainland Tactix tomorrow – for now.
It was the Steel’s third consecutive victory – the first time they have won back-to-back-to-back since July 2021.
Knowing she has a dominant shooter under the post in Aliyah Dunn has given Heffernan the chance to flourish this season.
The goal attack finished with 21 points – including a two-pointer – and two gains, while Dunn slotted 43 points.
Kimiora Poi was the general in the ever-changing midcourt, providing stability with an outstanding 50 feeds.
It was a collective performance from the Steel to grind away and extend their lead at every break.
But they lost the final quarter 17-11 and will be disappointed to have let the Magic back in.
The Steel made a strong start when Kate Heffernan snaffled a cross-court ball off the Magic’s centre pass.
The Magic sat back in a box defensively, forcing the Steel out wide and slowing up their entry into the circle.
But the Steel showed their patience and Dunn found the body to post up under the goal.
Poi positioned herself nicely on the circle edge. She found the depth in the pocket, rolled her body to find the space and her connection to Dunn was second to none.
Magic shooter Saviour Tui put her body on the line and was strong on the take to help the Magic trail 15-13 at the break.
Georgia Heffernan took a brilliant intercept off the Magic’s centre pass – and she made sure of it at the post.
They took three passes to get to Dunn off their next centre pass to jump to an 18-13 lead.
Georgie Edgecombe’s guard deflected the feed into the Steel’s circle, helping the Magic pull back the score.
Ameliaranne Ekenasio was direct around the top of the circle, pulling a defender away from the post to open things up for Tui.
Just when it felt as though the Magic were going to edge ahead, the Steel put their foot down and broke out to a five-point lead again.
Tui drained the first two-pointer of the game – but from there, things started to unravel for the Magic and the Steel led 33-25 at halftime.
The Steel clogged the middle channel, forcing the Magic to look for a second option.
But Tui held high to leave the baseline free for Claire O’Brien to pop a lovely ball through to her shooter.
The Steel kept ticking away, scoring off their centre pass and working the ball around their attackers.
The Magic struggled to pick up ball or disrupt the Steel’s patience to wait for the opening.
The home side pushed ahead to an 11-point lead midway through the third quarter, as Dunn dominated space through there.
Georgia Heffernan punished with a two-pointer to finish the quarter and give the Steel a 53-38 lead.
Stythe grew into the game, picking up five gains and limited options into the circle
Defender Georgia Tong mounted the Magic’s comeback with a brilliant intercept to close the gap to 10.
Tui followed with consecutive two-pointers, but it was not enough to snatch a win.
