The Southern Steel survived an extra-time thriller against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic, winning 56-53 in front of a sold-out crowd at the Edgar Centre on Saturday.
Georgia Heffernan nailed a two-pointer on the buzzer to give the Steel a 55-52 lead at the extra-time break.
It brought the crowd and the bench to their feet as they worked their way towards a victory in front of their first sold-out Edgar Centre in the franchise’s 18-year history.
It was a real grind for the Steel, but they held on to win their sixth game on the trot and kept the Magic winless, although they grabbed their first bonus point.
Down by one with eight minutes left in regular time, wing defence Renee Savai’inaea picked the pocket.
It helped the Steel level 47-47 and gave them confidence.
Steel defender Carys Stythe forced Saviour Tui to spill the ball over the baseline and the goal keeper’s elated scream could have been heard for miles.
They held a 49-47 lead with two minutes to go, but Sarah Guiney nailed a two-pointer and the Magic forced extra-time.
Aliyah Dunn was outstanding with 46 from 46 and Stythe had eight deflections.
Stythe had a good battle with Saviour Tui — who was sidelined the last time the Magic met the Steel — with the Magic shooter using her elevation.
Dunn used her full bag of tricks, setting a front screen to push Oceane Maihi high and open the space at the back.
Kimiora Poi rolled to the top and popped the ball on the fly into Heffernan.
The Magic’s full court zone held the Steel up with limited short options coming to the ball to help bring it through.
Stythe pounced on another ball — but Maihi responded at the other end snaffling a cross-court ball.
That helped the Magic hold a 15-14 lead at the break.
The Magic defence smothered the Steel, forcing a held ball to open the second quarter.
The Steel needed their attackers to do more work off the ball and offer more off the circle edge for their attacking flow to return.
Renee Savai’inaea did a mountain of work to bring the ball down the court and support her attack end.
Poi ignited the team when she flung the ball back inside, falling out of court and Khayne’-Lii Munro-Nonoa collected the crumbs.
Ali Wilshier picked up a tip on the transverse line and the Magic moved swiftly, to extend their lead to two.
The Magic defensively shut down Dunn’s first option which closed up the Steel’s circle.
But they found a way to work through their teething issues and maintain their composure to regain the lead.
Stythe rejected Guiney’s shot, Heffernan helped alleviate the pressure on Dunn and Serina Daunakamakama came in to the game more.
The Steel led 28-26 at halftime.
They went on a three-goal run to start the third quarter, but the Magic came back firing to win the quarter 14-11.
The Steel’s through court defence lifted another level, stunting the Magic’s flow on attack.
But Wilshier unleashed a stunning long ball into Tui to open the space.
It felt like a real grind for both teams to get the ball to circle edge and into their shooters, showing the hunger they both had to secure the victory.
Ariana Cable-Dixon gave back to back bullet pass to Tui on the base to level 37-37 — and then a two-point lead.
Georgie Edgecombe wrapped up Daunakamakama and kept the Steel attack end quiet for the Magic to lead 40-39.
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The scores
Southern Steel 56
Aliyah Dunn 46 (46/46), Georgia Heffernan 10 (9/13)
Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic 53
Saviour Tui 38 (38/42), Sarah Guiney 11 (10/14)
Quarter scores: Steel 14-15, 28-26, 39-40, 51-51 (fulltime), 55-52 (extra time)
