Waikato/Bay of Plenty emerged 54-47 winners over the Southern Steel in a clash of the New Zealand netball powerhouses in Tauranga today.
An absorbing match between New Zealand's strongest teams in the ANZ Championship wasn't decided until the opening minutes of the final quarter when a burst from the Magic pulled them seven goals clear.
Evergreen goal shoot and captain Irene van Dyk was at the heart of the Magic's success, shooting 38 from 38 against a Steel defence missing injured goal keep Megan Hutton.
A fascinating battle unfolded at the other end of the court, where former Silver Ferns shooter Donna Wilkins locked horns with defensive dynamo Casey Williams. Magic star Williams emerged with the honours and the player of the match award, excelling after she shifted from goal keep to goal defence.
Shooting proved crucial for the winners, landing 54 from 57 total shots while the Steel managed 47 from 64 as the reach of Williams and Leanna de Bruin made life tough for Wilkins and Daneka Wipiiti.
It was a classic confrontation to kick-start round two of the trans-Tasman championship, with both sides overflowing with Silver Ferns personnel.
The result leaves last year's beaten finalists the Magic as the only unbeaten New Zealand team, following their 51-38 humbling of the Northern Mystics last weekend.
Van Dyk was pleased her team responded when the Steel threatened to hit the front in the third quarter.
"We tried to be up by 15 but it didn't happen," she told Sky Sport.
"It was nice to know that the team came out and actually held on to the little bit of advantage that we had." Van Dyk continued her golden run against the Steel, having shot 100 percent in both clashes last year.
The Steel, who opened with a 55-46 defeat of the Central Pulse, made a bright start but found it hard to halt their classy opponents in two passages that ultimately proved decisive.
The most important was the period either side of the first quarter break, when the Magic went on an eight-goal scoring streak.
Down 8-13, the Magic attacking end suddenly clicked after 10 minutes of uncertainty and they closed to 12-13 at the end of the first stanza.
That was turned into a 16-13 lead within moments of the restart -- a lead they weren't to relinquish although the southerners often rallied to within two or three goals throughout an undulating contest.
The Steel midcourt more than held their own, with Sheryl Scanlan excelling at wing defence while Liana Barrett-Chase and Wendy Telfer effectively shared half a game each at centre.
Steel captain Adine Wilson was impressed with how young defender Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit set about filling the sneakers of Hutton.
"We all know Irene is the best shooter in the world so it's a hard one to come out and play your first starting game at and I thought she did exceptionally well," Wilson said.
"It was great spirit from our team. We just kept going and every time the Magic tried to pull away, we just didn't let them until that end bit.
"We can take a lot of heart out of that and we also know we've got the ability to beat them as well so watch out next time." The Steel next host the Canterbury Tactix in a South Island derby on Sunday next week followed by a classic Monday clash when the Magic host the defending champion New South Wales Swifts in a repeat of the inaugural final.
This weekend sees another all-New Zealand clash tomorrow when the Mystics host the Pulse while the Tactix host Australia's West Coast Fever on Monday.
