Led by some strong offensive power off the boards and a flying beginning to the game, the Goldrush led all the way and was never pushed by an Auckland team which struggled to get much going.
The Auckland side had only seven players on its roster and was always going to struggle against a Goldrush team which had plenty of depth.
Tight finances limited the number of players Auckland could send south and having only two players on the bench throughout the game it was facing an uphill battle.
The only time the Aucklanders matched the home team was in the final 10 minutes but the Goldrush gave some of its bench a run and did not make those tough stands on defence.
The Goldrush had torn out to a 26-9 lead after the first quarter and the visiting team never got with 15 points after that.
Goldrush guard Jeanie Pattison scored 18 points and picked up four rebounds while Nicole Ruske grabbed 14 points and four rebounds.
Captain Natalie Smith nabbed 11 points, mostly inside the paint, and also helped herself to four rebounds.
Aleisha Ruske helped out with 11 points as the home team shot at 38%.
Auckland, on the other hand, shot at 35% but had 36 fewer attempts on goal. The Goldrush scored 20 more rebounds.
Goldrush coach Todd Marshall said he was pleased with the game and the way the team had jumped out of the blocks.
''I thought we set the tone early on and kept that up right through the game, really. I had to remind them that they only had seven players,'' Marshall said.
''We wanted to make sure we worked them hard with every ball they had. I wanted to get to them, hassle them even when they were dribbling the ball up the court.''
Marshall said one of his key forwards, the captain, Smith, rolled her ankle early in the game and only got limited minutes. She still collected 11 points in just over 13 minutes.
It was an impressive start for the Goldrush but things will get considerably harder when the side makes the journey to Auckland for the first tournament of the women's basketball championship.
It will play five games over three days, which will give a good indication of its capabilities.
