KEY POINTS:
The incredible might of Vilimaina Davu may be lost to the Silver Ferns, but it drove the Force to one of the great shock victories in the history of netball's national league last night and a treasured place in the very last final.
The magnitude of the Force's 47-39 win over the six-time National Bank Cup champion Sting side was not only in the scoreline difference, but stealing a victory in the cauldron of Stadium Southland.
While Davu may have lost some fitness since retiring from the Silver Ferns last year, she has lost nothing in intuition, skill and presence. Partnering her old Ferns' team-mate Leana du Bruin in superb one-on-one defence, Davu took the knocks - an elbow to the head and a tumble into the crowd - and grabbed the rebounds when it counted.
The Sting get a second life next Friday against the winner of tomorrow's Diamonds-Magic elimination match. Sting coach Robyn Broughton lamented her side could not take the physical nature of the match, and said it "remained to be seen" whether the Sting could make their 10th NBC final.
Urged on by a sell-out home crowd, the Sting battled for initial control over the Force's most intimidating defence combination - Davu, du Bruin and Sheryl Scanlan at wing defence.
Former Force player Daneka Wipiiti looked comfortable in her new Sting skin, shooting an almost perfect quarter, and combined with too many errors by the Force in the middle put the home team ahead by three at the first break.
Yet after the break, the Force - who have never won the national title - got down to work, absorbing the pressure and dominating every third of the court.
Driven by Temepara George, a run of five goals at the start of the spell and another before halftime left the crowd silenced. A 28-20 halftime scoreline against the Sting at home is virtually unheard of.
Sting captain Adine Wilson, with her left shoulder heavily bandaged, rallied her side in the third quarter to close the gap to three, but still the Sting found it hard to penetrate the defensive wall.
Nothing in this match was simple; a physical, aggressive game, with tackles and blows, where getting the ball through the hoop was more like scoring a rugby try. But Force shooters Catherine Latu and Megan Dehn sunk them with simplicity, as coach Yvonne Willering had asked of them.
FORCE 47
STING 39
