Waikato/BoP Magic 54
Central Pulse 37
KEY POINTS:
Magic coach Noeline Taurua was as good as her word. After putting almost 20 goals between the Magic and a beleaguered Pulse outfit after three quarters, Taurua honoured a commitment to use her bench players and rang the changes in her side's 54-37 victory at Hamilton's Mystery Creek Events Centre.
It was the first time the top-of-the-table Magic had made a substitution throughout the first five ANZ Championship rounds.
Two Silver Ferns - Joline Henry, Maria Tutaia - were afforded the luxury of a spell on the bench, which paved the way for midcourter Nicola Pettit to move to centre and Laura Langman transferring to wing attack.
Halana Leith and Keisha Grant made their transtasman competition debuts, leaving shooter Brigette Tapene and defender Rachel Beale as the only squad members yet to earn a cap.
Despite giving her less experienced players an opportunity to cast off the bench shackles, Taurua's side wasn't as dominant as she would have hoped.
While the first quarter saw the home side romp out to an 18-4 lead, the Magic eased the foot off the accelerator over the following three quarters. Their nonchalant approach demonstrated an unwillingness to step on the throat of their Wellington neighbours.
Henry conceded her team didn't perform as well as they could have for the full 60 minutes, allowing only three of the five reserves to get court time.
"We had a good game for one quarter. We can't afford to make wholesale changes when we only have one good quarter," Henry said.
On the opposing roster, Pulse coach Kate Carpenter elected not to start with former Magic player Kahurangi Waititi; Cushla Litchwark getting the nod to mark Magic goal attack Maria Tutaia.
Setting up perhaps the most anticipated match-up of the game, English goal keep and Pulse linchpin Sonia Mkoloma went head-to-head with shooter Irene van Dyk in the Magic circle.
Despite having the Pulse's marquee signing on her tail, van Dyk shot the perfect game, landing all 40 of her attempts at goal.
In what has become an unwanted hallmark of their game, the Pulse were slow to settle, with the Magic able to score five unanswered goals in the opening stanza before getting a response.
"It's something, as a group, we are struggling with," Carpenter said. "We had 14 goals to catch up against the Magic [after the first quarter], who have the ability to score and to score fast. We just couldn't do that."
The Pulse showed an inability to penetrate the fiercely guarded attacking circle. Magic keeper Casey Williams and goal defender Jodi Tod did their upmost to frustrate the relatively inexperienced Pulse shooters Susan Tagicakibau at goal attack and 17-year-old goal shoot Amber Bellringer.
The Magic face Northern Mystics in Auckland next weekend and the Pulse have a bye.
