It may have taken 10 rounds, but the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic finally found their A game, comprehensively out-playing Melbourne Vixens 55-48 in tonight's trans-Tasman netball league match in Tauranga.
The Vixens could find no answer to some phenomenal shooting backed up by outstanding defence, and lost every quarter on the way to their first defeat of the season.
With Australian coach Norma Plummer and New Zealand's Ruth Aitken in the crowd, the Magic stepped up and delivered their most complete game of the season.
The Magic's ability to score off turnover ball proved pivotal, in a match characterised by some punishing through-court defence.
Both teams had exactly the same number of shots on goal with 58 attempts, but it was the Magic's accuracy which saw them through, Irene van Dyk and Maria Tutaia both shooting at above 90 percent.
In fact, the pair missed only three attempts in the entire 60 minutes, van Dyk notching up her first miss in the last spell to sink 35 from 36, while Tutaia was only fractionally less efficient with 20 from 22.
In contrast, Vixens goal attack Sharelle McMahon managed an underwhelming 16 from 22 for 73 percent, although goal shoot Caitlin Thwaites was solid with 32 from 26.
Van Dyk afterwards described the win as "the cherry on the cake".
"We knew they were going to come out firing because they are such a classy side. We threw a few balls away in the first quarter, but luckily we pulled through in the end," she told SkySport.
Vixens captain Bianca Chatfield wasn't making any excuses afterwards.
"We weren't good enough, we weren't tough enough, we weren't turning the ball over enough. They brought the ball down with so much speed, we just didn't have any opportunity to come out and have a go," she said.
Neither team impressed consistently in a stop-start first quarter, with turnovers too often being thrown away and the Magic struggling to find a path through from to Tutaia and van Dyk.
However, a last-minute, body-on-the-line effort from van Dyk, which saw her belted across the back line and skid through the advertising hoardings, gave the Magic a late penalty shot and a narrow 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Magic in-goal defence was working well, with Silver Ferns goal keep Casey Williams given license to hunt upcourt from goal defence and Leana de Bruin matching Thwaites in height, reach and elevation.
Williams was in outstanding form, and did an excellent job restricting the vastly influential McMahon to just one goal from three attempts
Hoornweg benched wing attack Chelsey Nash after 15 minutes, testament to the pressure Silver Ferns wing defence Joline Henry was exerting. Renae Hallinan moved across from wing defence, and Brooke Thompson took her place.
The changes took a little time to gel, and the Magic's midcourt settled into their work, combining a swarming defence with some more measured feeding into their circle.
But the Vixens held their nerve, buoyed by some superb defence from goalkeep Bianca Chatfield, back after missing last week's game against the Firebirds with an knee injury, and it was only in the closing stages of the second quarter that the Magic edged out to a 25-22 lead at halftime.
Hoornweg made further changes for the third quarter, shifting Hallinan to centre, moving Natasha Chokljat to wing defence and bringing Nash back to wing attack.
It was to no avail. The Magic's flow through midcourt increased in confidence, and a five-goal run in the closing stages saw the Magic go into the final spell with a 39-33 lead.
The game was effectively over with 10 minutes to go, as the Magic stampeded out to a 12-goal lead 48-36, and although the Vixens showed grit to close the gap, the result was never in doubt.
Results:
Waikato-Bay of Plenty 55 (Irene van Dyk 35/36, Maria Tutaia 20/22)
Melbourne Vixens 48 (Caitlin Thwaites 32/36, Sharelle McMahon 16/22).
Halftime: 25-22.
