Varsity will play Falcons Kavanagh in a sudden-death game — the winner to play the loser of the Ajax v Magic game for the second spot in the final.
That is the playoff equation at the conclusion of the women’s club basketball regular season.
The defending champion Magic claimed second place on Tuesday night, its 70-38 win over Varsity edging it ahead after both teams entered the game tied on six wins.
Veteran forwards Natalie Visger and Lisa Wallbutton had 19 and 13 points each as the Magic showed its class.
It played through that duo in the post, while crashing the glass aggressively to control the offensive boards.
Defensively, it did similar damage.
Its bigs protected the rim well, while Te Araroa Sopoaga was equally effective on the perimeter.
The Magic held a slim 10-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter, before stretching that to 26-15 at halftime.
That reached 36-19 early in the third and after a timeout, Varsity hit back as Tara Clement and Holly McCleery managed two baskets each to force Magic into a timeout at 38-26.
But the Magic finished the quarter with a 15-0 run of its own to quell the comeback.
Meanwhile, Ajax finished the regular season undefeated with a 75-33 win over the Andy Bay Falcons.
Zoe Richards had another classy outing with 29 points, finishing as the regular season’s leading scorer at 24.0 points per game.
That left her well clear of second and third on that list in Kavanagh duo Annabelle Ring (17.3) and Dre Whaanga (14.4).
That pair had 17 and 10 respectively on Tuesday as Kavanagh beat South Pac OGHS 56-43.
