The Southern Steel were beaten 55-44 by the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in their final game in Invercargill on Saturday.
The loss means the Steel finish last in the ANZ Premiership for the second straight year, and it was the final chapter for head coach Bloxham, who is heading to the Cardiff Dragons after 11 seasons with the club.
The Magic — the only team to have never featured in the playoffs — jumped into the third, and final, playoff spot after their win.
But the Northern Mystics beat the Northern Stars 63-55 yesterday to knock the Magic out of the playoffs and the Mystics secured third place on points differential.
The defending champions will now play the loser of the Central Pulse v Mainland Tactix game tonight.
It was not the way the Steel wanted to see their beloved coach out, but it was a fairly average game from both sides.
Magic goal keep Erena Mikaere, who is having something of a standout season aged 36, was a menace with 10 gains, four intercepts and two rebounds.
The Steel won the final quarter 15-8, but left fans wondering where that form had been all game.
Early on, the Steel had good patience and control on attack, working the ball to the circle edge to try to remove the threat of Mikaere’s reach.
But her ability to confuse the space created problems for the Steel when Mikaere blocked the feeders’ vision and tipped the ball to her midcourters to pick up.
Silly mistakes from the Steel allowed the Magic to capitalise and they crept ahead on the scoreboard.
Magic wing attack Claire O’Brien tried to fire in her feed to Ameliaranne Ekenasio from the centre pass, but Taneisha Fifita read it to snaffle the intercept.
Tthe visitors held on to a 19-14 lead at the break.
Defensively, the Steel sat in a box structure and worked in unison to pressure the Magic feeders.
The Magic were experienced enough to work through their teething issues on attack and started to find their timing in the second quarter.
While Saviour Tui’s radar was slightly off under the post, her ability to present, take the front space and take on the high ball under pressure was second to none.
The Steel became hesitant and static on attack, and it became a real struggle to find their shooters.
The Magic were not flashy but just ground down the Steel to take a 30-22 lead at halftime.
Turnovers were the theme of the third quarter, both teams coughing up easy ball that should have been a secure route to goal.
The Steel’s placement of the ball was off and they put each other under unnecessary pressure.
Abby Lawson muscled up in the circle, pulled in some good rebounds and pressured the Silver Ferns captain.
Both teams made a swag of changes throughout the third quarter and it took some of the fire out of the game.
It became messy, both teams guilty of not doing the work off the ball and losing their connections through court.
But the Magic still cruised to win the quarter 17-7 and led 47-29 at the break.
Kate Heffernan swung into wing defence in the final quarter and picked up a wealth of ball for the Steel.
All eyes now turn to a top-of-the-table clash between the Pulse and Tactix tonight.
The winner of the latter game will qualify top and gain hosting rights for the grand final.
ANZ Premiership
The scores
Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic 55
Saviour Tui 19/25, Ameliaranne Ekenasio 22/25, Ivana Rowland 14/15
Southern Steel 44
Grace Namana 3/4, Georgia Heffernan 19/26, Summer Temu 22/24
Quarter scores: Magic 15-10, 30-22, 47-29.
