Reinga Bloxham was a ball of emotions after her Southern Steel side finally recorded their first victory in nearly two years.
And what a way to do it — a 63-61 win over the Northern Stars in an extra-time thriller in front of their loyal Invercargill crowd.
It was a memorable Saturday afternoon at Stadium Southland as the Steel snapped a record 21-game losing streak and notched their first win since May 22, 2022.
Down 50-42 after an "ugly" third quarter, they played like the Steel of old in the final quarter to bring the game level.
Wing defence Renee Savai’inaea muscled up on the circle edge to draw a penalty from Stars centre Lisa Mather, and goal attack Georgia Heffernan grabbed an intercept.
The ball made its way into Heffernan at the top of the circle and her long bomb went begging with seconds to spare, sending the game into overtime.
But with the scores tied 58-58, it was the Steel who withstood the pressure in extra time and rose to the top to secure the win.
"A lot of emotions, actually, but very elated when it did happen — probably a little bit of relief as well". Bloxham said.
"What an ending as well to go into overtime.
"When we went into overtime, I actually felt we were really composed, and knew what
our jobs were, and we actually did them better than we had
the whole game."
Young Ivari Christie, who was injected at the start of the fourth in place of Shannon Saunders, who is still returning from injury, was one of those who stood up and executed what she learned from watching Saunders.
"Every time she’s come on, I’ve felt that she’s made an impact, and [on Saturday] I thought she did her job really well, and going into overtime, I thought she was super composed as well". Bloxham said.
"I was really proud of that."
There was a feeling in recent weeks, especially against the Northern Mystics and the Central Pulse, that the Steel were building in the right direction.
That win kept the Stars, last year’s beaten finalists, winless after four rounds and will do the Steel the world of good heading into their game against the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic.
"Last week, even though we probably let ourselves down a bit, the girls had real belief that we had the right recipe that if we put it together that we could do something to help us get that win". Bloxham said.
"It’s just given us that confidence and that belief again that we do know how to win."
It was a night that belonged to all players, coaching staff and management — but also the Steel’s loyal fans, who stuck by them through a difficult few years.
Many came to congratulate Bloxham after the game. She, in turn, thanked them for having the team’s back.
"When I turned around and just saw the crowd on their feet ... you could see the emotion in their eyes, it just felt really special.
"It just goes to show that it’s been a long time for us, but it’s been just as long for them and they’ve stood behind us throughout this whole journey.
"They live every pass, they live every sort of movement — I was just absolutely stoked that we were able to do that and do it in front of them."
In yesterday’s game, the Central Pulse downed the Northern Mystics 52-47 in Auckland.
ANZ Premiership
The scores
Southern Steel 63
Grace Namana 44/50, Georgia Heffernan 19/25
Northern Stars 61
Maia Wilson 42/46, Summer Temu 11/11, Monica Falkner 8/11
Quarter scores: Stars 16-13, 29-29, Stars 50-42, 58-58 (regular time).
