The Pulse will return from Invercargill with the new Robyn Broughton Legacy Trophy and sitting on the top rung of the ladder after a convincing 65-38 win over the Steel on Monday night.
The Pulse leapt over the Tactix to claim the No.1 spot at the end of Round 12, but they weren’t always dominant in the match with bottom-placed Steel. There was little between the two sides in a low-scoring first quarter, when the Pulse fell into a Steel trap of trying to force the ball into their shooters.
Although it was dogged Pulse wing defence Fa’amu Ioane’s 100th national league match, it was her captain Kelly Jackson who stole the limelight. After a successful night hunting, she ended up with 15 gains including six intercepts.
At the start of the match, errors working the ball into their circle were ironed out quickly by the Steel, and Taneisha Fifita, coming back from an injury break, got her hands to lobbed ball destined for Pulse goal shoot Martina Salmon early in the quarter – helping the home side grab a two-goal lead.
But Kelly Jackson got into her groove, picking up two intercepts, three deflections and seven gains, to put the Pulse ahead – albeit only by one, 11-10, at the first break.