No teams are now unbeaten in Dunedin club netball.
Southern Magpies prevailed 48-44 in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash, handing Phys Ed A its first loss of the season.
It was a close game throughout but Southern, with all its Beko League players available, always had a slight advantage.
However, it took a run with five minutes to go to bury Phys Ed.
After leading 35-34 at the final break, Southern held a 42-39 lead late in the game.
Phys Ed had the opportunity to close that gap when it rebounded a missed shot from Southern.
It was unable to score, turned the ball over and Southern extended its lead to four.
Two quick goals to Southern made that 46-39, a margin Phys Ed could not overcome, despite rallying late.
Those errors had been a problem for both teams throughout the game, and the defences proved tough to break down early.
Southern took a 10-6 lead with five minutes to go in the first quarter, before Phys Ed pulled back to 13-11.
Southern made a strong start to the second quarter and opened that gap to 20-14.
Its shooters operated efficiently, making 11 of their 12 goal attempts in that quarter. Goal shoot Madeleine Hunt made 10 of those.
Phys Ed's shooters were unable to convert at the same rate, shooting at 58% and 60% in the first two quarters, and it
trailed 24-20 at halftime, despite having had five more goal attempts.
It turned that around in the third quarter, shooting an impressive 93% and tying the scores at 33-33 in the final minute before the break.
Southern withstood the comeback and ensured it would not drop a second game in a row.
Despite its loss, Phys Ed A did enough to finish the first round at the top of the table, one point ahead of Southern Magpies.
In other games St Hilda's Collegiate beat University-Albion A 72-55, Southern Tui edged University-Albion B 53-49 and Phys Ed B toppled College A 61-56.
Promotion-relegation games will be played tomorrow night.
Southern Tui and University-Albion B will play Phys Ed Blue and South Pacific Titans respectively, in the A/B grade games.
