It scored 153 points across two games to claim comprehensive wins over the Mainland Tactix at the Edgar Centre. After a 79-51 win on Saturday, the Steel blew the Tactix off the court in the second half to claim a 74-48 victory on Sunday.
While the result was not the main focus, coach Reinga Bloxham was happy with the performance over the two days.
"I think what I am happy with the most is the girls recognised yesterday that it was a big scoreline and they were still pushing forward," she said.
"They had lots of things that they wanted to work on. So I’m happy with that transition from [Saturday] to [Sunday] and always wanting a bit more out of it."
The Steel was dominant right through the first game, looking particularly strong at the start and finish. It led 22-11 after the first stanza and extended that to 37-23 at halftime. Jamaican goal shoot Jhanielle Fowler-Reid showed she will once again be one of the league’s key players, using her size and strength to take up space and get good position inside. On the defensive end, Jane Watson was outstanding, intercepting several passes and disrupting the Tactix attack.
Fowler-Reid’s impact was better shown yesterday. In the only quarter she did not play, the first, the Steel trailed 16-12. It was an energetic Mainland team that had come out and her absence in the circle was noticeable. When the Jamaican entered the game in the second quarter, the game immediately turned and she proved just as hard to stop getting close to the hoop. It was something Bloxham acknowledged, although she said it had been good to get the side’s younger shooters some experience at a higher level.
While the scores were even at 29-29 at halftime, the Steel then went to another level. On attack it was slick and accurate, while on defence it was relentless in preventing the Tactix getting quality shots inside. It won that quarter 24-7, before a further dominant final quarter.
"I was happy with the way they just stayed in there and they had a bit of grind and worked," Bloxham said.
"Credit to the Tactix. They put a lot of pressure on us in the first half which was great. But the girls just were patient and worked through. It was good.
"I quite enjoyed the third quarter. I think we managed to get a bit of flow and a bit of consistency and timing on the court.
"So the attack was good, but I think our defence unit worked together well as well, so that was good for me."
Bloxham did not want to pick out any individuals but said there were moments when different players did good things. With the season three weeks away, the side was now looking to its pre-season tournament in Otaki starting on Friday. There, Bloxham said she hoped to continue building combinations and connections.‘‘I think the good thing about these pre-season games is that you get an opportunity to see everyone out on court.
"So for me positional-wise, I think things are still nice and open and people are still fighting for positions.
"So I think looking at combinations and looking at connections are probably key and really important."
Meanwhile, the South Beko League team beat the Mainland team 53-52 on Saturday thanks to a last-second shot from Aliyah Dunn. It had another hard-fought 52-51 win yesterday.
