Magic 51
Thunderbirds 49
KEY POINTS:
The Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic have ensured the final of the transtasman league will in fact be a transtasman affair after they overcame a ferocious Adelaide Thunderbirds in another thrilling showdown at Mystery Creek.
In doing so, the Magic have booked their ticket to Sydney to have another crack at the NSW Swifts in the grand final next Monday. The Swifts took the direct route into the final after beating the Magic by one goal in last week's major semifinal, and Waikato defender Joline Henry said her side drew on that experience in the tight closing stages of last night's match.
After trailing by five goals heading into the final quarter, the Thunderbirds came storming back to set up a tense finish. But the Magic were able to absorb the pressure and hold on for a two-goal win.
"We tried not to let the outcome of last week's game play on our minds at all, but I think if anything we did take a lot of learning out of it. It taught us the importance of when it came to crunch time, we all want to be there screaming for the ball, not shirking from it," said Henry.
"I think that's what defines great players from average ones, when our backs were against the wall."
Henry said her side are thrilled to get the opportunity to meet the Swifts again, having suffered two losses to the Sydney side this season. She joked last week's loss was a deliberate ploy to get a chance for some more duty-free shopping in.
"We just thought 'oh we could do with some duty free'."
Magic coach Noeline Taurua continued her trend of throwing up surprises in the starting line-up, this time moving regular centre Laura Langman to wing-attack, with captain Amigene Metcalfe starting at centre.
It was yet another huge gamble on Taurua's part, given Langman had never played the position at this level before and comes from a defensive background.
With Taurua also sticking with her recent experiment with Irene van Dyk at goal-attack, Langman's shift to the wing was perhaps a ploy to give the Magic more speed in their attack end.
Not to be outdone though, Thunderbirds coach Jane Woodlands pulled a swifty shortly before the opening whistle, making a late change to her starting line-up. Woodlands exploited the injury rules to adjust her run-on side, with Mo'onia Gerrard and Bianca Reddy switching positions - Gerrard moving from goal-defence to wing-defence in an obvious attempt to shut down Langman. Teams can make changes to their starting line only if there is an injury. It was a blatant flouting of the rules, as the Thunderbirds named Reddy as their injured player, yet she still took the court.
All the pre-match gamemanship proved pointless, with Woodlands immediately switching the two defenders back again at the first break as Reddy struggled against the height and strength of Irene van Dyk.
With Reddy caught with her head down on several occasions, the Magic found easy passage into the shooting circle in the opening spell, leading 17-14 at the first break.
After moving back to goal-defence, Gerrard made her presence known to the Magic shooters almost immediately, spoiling their first possession with a superb intercept.
The Thunderbirds were able to quickly bring it back to a one-point ball game, and the score remained tight for most of the period.
But Casey Williams gradually began getting in to the head of Adelaide shooter Kate Beveridge and a few wobbly shots allowed the Magic to take advantage towards the end of the spell, leading 29-25 at halftime.
After last week's third-quarter meltdown against the Swifts, the Magic ensured they came out firing after the break, blitzing the Thunderbirds 7-2 in the first six minutes of the spell. The Thunderbirds reduced the deficit over the latter stages, with the Magic's lead cut back to five heading into the final spell.
