Dunedin was knocked out of contention at the New Zealand open championships by the home team in Auckland yesterday.
Auckland poured in 17 goals in the third quarter to further cement their dominance in a 56-43 victory.
The North Island side got off to a strong start and led 15-10 at the quarter break.
Dunedin was more competitive in the second period but trailed 27-20 at halftime.
Auckland had their most productive quarter in the third period, outscoring Dunedin 17-11.
The task was too tough for Dunedin from there, but they rallied and drew the final period 12-12.
They played Tauranga in the afternoon in the playoffs for fifth to eight and lost by a single point, 39-38.
In the other quarterfinals, Hamilton City pulled away in the second half to beat Tauranga 48-35, Counties-Manukau defeated North Harbour 48-39 and Cambridge fought back from a poor first quarter to defeat Christchurch 53-42.
In the semifinals, Hamilton City beat Auckland 50-47 and Counties-Manukau beat Cambridge 51-47.
The final is today at 1pm.
