Dunedin beat Invercargill 28-17 yesterday morning to advance to the playoffs for fifth and sixth, where it beat Waitakere 2 44-35 top secure fifth spot.
Coach Janine Southby was delighted with her players’ "outstanding" result and their development throughout the week after a short build up.
Dunedin narrowly lost its first game 28-26 to Howick Pakuranga in what was many players’ first encounter against a North Island team in horrid conditions.
"The little girls from Dunedin who play indoors took a wee bit to adjust, but when they sorted it out, they got it sorted really well," Southby said.
The team bounced back with big wins against Te Waipounamu, Northland and Nelson to finish second in its pool and had an emphatic 42-18 win against Auckland 2 to secure a top eight spot.
But Auckland 1 proved to be too game smart, winning 43-30, despite Dunedin only losing the second half by three goals. Dunedin then won its final two games yesterday.
"Really proud of the learning they’ve done, the ability to play [in] a whole lot of different conditions, and against different opposition — it’s been a really good week.
"When you’ve coached a lot of teams at different levels and ages and stages, it’s really refreshing to coach a group who just are really keen to get out there and be the best they can be and just bring a real vibrant energy to everything they do, so it’s been lots of fun."
Defender Holly McRae had a fantastic tournament, Praise Hola was impressive through the middle and shooters Ella Southby and Neve Beattie were strong.
Invercargill finished eighth, North Otago placed 22nd ahead of Central Lakes in 23rd and Southland Country finished 29th.
