KEY POINTS:
Auckland Waitakere continue to set the pace at the National Championships in Rotorua, but their latest win has taken a hefty toll with veteran midcourter Jenny-May Coffin in doubt for today's semifinals after suffering a knee injury.
Coffin went down shortly before halftime in last night's 53-44 win over Waikato after landing awkwardly on her knee.
The former Silver Fern was unsure of the extent of the injury last night and was to undergo a medical assessment later. But Coffin remains hopeful of being able to take some part in the remainder of the tournament.
Auckland, who were the top qualifiers in the first division, will meet Otago in today's first semifinal after the southerners scrapped into the final four by virtue of a bonus point earned in their narrow 55-53 defeat at the hands of a lacklustre North side.
North are set to face a red-hot Southland side in today's other semifinal after the girls from the deep south sealed their place in the top four with a 62-40 win over Western.
With former Silver Ferns Temepara George and Vilimaina Davu leading the side, North were tipped as favourites for the revamped provincial championship.
But yesterday's scratchy performance proved the North Harbour side have a long way to go if they are to live up to their pre-tournament billing.
After holding a healthy 32-25 lead at halftime, North appeared to go to sleep in the third spell with Otago storming back into the match to trail by just one goal at three-quarter time.
The young Otago side looked to be headed towards an unlikely victory when they took a four-goal lead mid-way through the final quarter. But North finally seemed to regain their hunger with Temepara George coming up with some key turnovers to help her side scrape through for the win.
Coach Marcia Hardcastle said her side proved in the final five minutes they can get the job done, but the challenge for them over the next two days is to produce that sort of intensity across the full 60 minutes.
"We seem to let it go when we get up by five or six goals so we need to make sure we maintain that intensity," she said.
Hardcastle said yesterday's win was crucial for the side's confidence, having suffered two straight losses in the previous rounds.
