Invercargill and Dunedin sides had to settle for the minor placings at the Netball New Zealand open championships in Palmerston North.
Dunedin took more or less a development team to the competition, which finished on a high note.
It beat Rotorua 50-27 in the playoff for 15th and 16th on Saturday.
Invercargill had a stronger side, but could only manage eighth place.
It was beaten 40-30 by Auckland in its last game.
The Southerners missed almost twice as many shots at goal as their opponent, and that told the tale.
The final was a thrilling contest.
North Harbour edged a gutsy Hamilton City 35-34 to claim the title.
Hamilton had lost by eight goals to North Harbour earlier in the five-day tournament, but lifted for the final.
North Harbour led 9-8 at the first break before Hamilton City, making better use of their opportunities and with shooter Monica Falkner finding her grove under the hoop, made the best possible start to the second quarter with a five-goal unanswered run.
North Harbour made a similar reply after goal attack Alyssa-Jean Savelio was injected into the game, helping level the scores
That ebb and flow become a feature in an absorbing end-to-end arm wrestle.
North Harbour nursed a 29-27 lead with a quarter remaining.
It built a four-goal buffer but had to weather a late charge by Hamilton City, who just ran out of time.
Tauranga pipped Counties-Manukau 37-36 in the playoff for third and fourth.
