A strong second half took Varsity to a 69-59 win over the Andy Bay Falcons on Tuesday night, claiming their first win of the Dunedin women’s club season in the process.
Guard Eve Tonascia had 14 points, dominating the periods on either side of halftime in a devastating run to take the game away from the Falcons.
Varsity trailed 31-24 late in the second quarter when Tonascia was hit on a mid-range jump shot, going to the line to hit a pair of free throws. She followed up with a steal in the full court a minute later, before getting to the hoop and finishing.
Abby Harris added two to bring Varsity back to trail 31-30 at halftime.
Perhaps it was just a warm-up, though.
Tonascia, a former Canterbury age-grade representative player, added eight quick points — including two triples — to begin the third quarter.
Issy Kerr followed with a three-pointer of her own for the students.
And with that, the damage was effectively done.
The Falcons had led most of the way to that point, and hit back on multiple Varsity comebacks — Jenna Lapham (eight points) and Elise Carline (14 points) both key through the first half.
But this was a lead they never got back.
They continued to fight, Aria Brown (17 points) providing the Falcons a consistent source of scoring.
She helped them get it back to 50-47 at three-quarter time.
However, as Tonascia cooled off, experienced forward Sophie Adams provided some key fourth quarter baskets, while Legacy Harrison (15 points) helped close out the win.
The Falcons, who were missing key guard Alexa Duff, never got closer than five points as Varsity drew level with them on one win for the season.
In the late game, the South Pac Magic beat Ajax 90-83.
Tia Pavihi led the Magic with 23 points, while Maggie Manson and Fay Fualau-Searle made key contributions with 18 and 16 points respectively.
Ajax were without Tall Fern Zoe Richards, but had a mammoth night from Elise Gilbert, who poured in 39 points.
Hannah Beede also showed her quality with 24 points.
The result leaves the pair tied at the top of the table on two wins, as the first round of games comes to a close.
