The Otago Goldrush was beaten 54-50 by the Waikato Wizards in the semifinal of the Women's Basketball Championship in Porirua last night.
Goldrush coach Todd Marshall said his side lacked polish on offence and the game slipped away despite a good defensive performance.
"Waikato played really well and put a lot of pressure on and we just struggled to score, really,'' he said.
"We stayed in the game through our own defence, but we couldn't get any decent flow in our offence.''
Kendall Heremaia top-scored for the Wizards with 17 points, while American Natalie Visger added 12 points for the Goldrush.
The Goldrush, which is the defending champion, will play the Taranaki Thunder in the playoff for third and fourth today.
The teams met earlier in the day and the Goldrush won 61-54.
Taranaki actually won three of the four quarters, but Otago won the third quarter 26-9. Bronwyn Kjestrup hit some crucial three-pointers during the 10 minute scoring blitz to help seal the victory.
The Goldrush also tightened its defence.
Waikato will play Canterbury in today's final after the Wildcats brushed aside the Thunder 70-38 in the earlier semifinal.
Fran Edmondson led the way with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while the classy Ashley Gayle added 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds in just 14 minutes on court.
