The gap between the bottom two and the top two has closed further in the Dunedin women's club competition.
Varsity and Andy Bay Falcons both jumped to three wins in the first round on Tuesday night after the break for university holidays.
They are now just two wins behind the South Pacific Magic with three rounds remaining.
The round was affected by last weekend's Women's Basketball Championship finals and many Otago Gold Rush players did not take the court.
That resulted in Ajax defaulting to the Falcons, while leaving the Magic short-handed.
Two that did back up were Varsity's Grace Love and Jeanie Pattison.
They helped it to a 91-61 win over the Magic.
Love finished with 20 points and Pattison 17, while Tara Clement and Caitlin Glue added 14 each.
After a leading 23-17 at the first break, Varsity held the Magic to 12 second-quarter points, taking a 44-29 lead at halftime.
It extended that to 67-45 at the next break, before running away with the final quarter.
Kirsty Currie top-scored for the Magic with 18 points, while Gold Rush guard Georgia Te Au had 16.
Each team will play each other once more, before
the playoffs begin on August
8.
That involves the top two teams facing each other for a direct path to the final.
The other two play for the right to play the loser of the top playoff, the winner of that game advancing to the final.
