Days after beating the Australian Diamonds by 14 points, the Silver Ferns backed it up with a 63-52 win against the world champions in Auckland.
Ekenasio, through happy tears, said the Silver Ferns had "copped" it over the past few weeks and beating Australia meant a lot.
"I’m so happy. I’m so proud of this team," Ekenasio told Sky Sport.
It will give the Silver Ferns confidence going up 2-0 in the series as they head across the Ditch for the final two tests.
The Diamonds have now lost their past eight games in New Zealand and will be eager to bounce back when they play in Perth on Sunday.
It was not the response the Diamonds were after, especially for coach Stacey Marinkovich’s 50th test.
Grace Nweke had a good battle against Sarah Klau, testing her new New South Wales Swifts team-mate under the post.
But Klau was heavily penalised — seven in the first quarter — giving Nweke space.
The Silver Ferns brought the ball down the court seamlessly, Kimiora Poi’s timing helping her find space in the pocket to feed Nweke.
She then threw a nice bullet pass to find Maddy Gordon at the top.
The Diamonds through-court defence was tight, helping create space for their defenders to hunt for ball.
Sophie Garbin provided a second-phase option for the Diamonds and then used the give-and-go to get back in the circle.
Kelly Jackson’s outside-arm tip landed for her defensive partner, Karin Burger, to collect.
That pressure really started to mount as the Diamonds’ spilled the ball over the baseline trying to find their shooters.
The Silver Ferns made the most of the turnover ball to lead 17-11 at the break.
Captain Liz Watson was benched to start the second — a credit to Kate Heffernan’s pressure — with Paige Hadley given the job to drive the attackers.
It did little to stop the home team’s momentum.
The Silver Ferns’ timing in their transition was beautiful. Poi punched the top and Ameliaranne Ekenasio rolled the base.
Ekenasio shot a sweet long-range goal to give the Silver Ferns a 10-point lead.
Nweke dominated the circle, forcing the Diamonds to bring Courtney Bruce on.
But the Diamonds just looked lost.
The world champions, who are known for being clinical, made silly mistakes and looked flustered trying to find their players.
That spoke to the amount of pressure the Silver Ferns put on them as they worked as a unit to pick up ball.
The Silver Ferns held a 33-23 lead at halftime.
Burger tracked the ball across the court to steal a screaming intercept in the pocket
But for one of the first passages of the night, the Silver Ferns were unable to bring the ball through.
Things started to click for the Diamonds who used their ball speed, and the width of the court, to find entry into the circle.
They won the third quarter by one goal, but still trailed 48-39 at the break.
