Netball: Northern Mystics beat Central Pulse to secure spot in ANZ Premiership final

Pulse wing attack Whitney Souness evades Mystics wing defence Fa'amu Ioane. Photo / Photosport

A nail-biting final quarter saw the Northern Mystics secure a place in their first ANZ Premiership final with a 56-54 win over the Central Pulse in Wellington tonight.

It was much closer than it should have been, as the Mystics squandered a 12-goal lead to let the Pulse back within one goal in the final seconds in what captain Sulu Fitzpatrick called a meltdown.

After losing to the Southern Steel a week earlier, the Mystics came out firing, stretching out to a seven-goal lead at halftime.

However the Pulse elevated in the second half, winning the final quarter 13-8, but were ultimately unable to overhaul the table-topping Mystics.

Wing attack Elisapeta Toeava put on another MVP-winning performance and herconnection with shooter Grace Nweke was once again unstoppable. The Mystics' ability to score quickly from a centre pass is their key strength this season.

Victory means the Mystics are the 2021 minor premiership winners and advance straight to the grand final at Spark Arena on August 8, where they will have the chance to win their first ANZ Premiership title.

Who the Mystics face in the grand final is undecided but the Mainland Tactix ensured they are firmly in contention for a finals position after their two-goal win over the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic in Rotorua earlier today.

Although the Tactix picked up the 49-47 win, the Christchurch side suffered from critical errors that plagued their attacking end, letting the Magic take advantage of their mistakes.

But the ever-impressive Tactix defensive circle and a solid performance from wing attack Erikana Pedersen in the midcourt helped them clinch the win in the dying minutes.

Magic goal shoot Caitlin Bassett has really come into her own at the end of the season, hitting 40 of her 42 attempts today.

The former Australian international put up a much stronger performance than in previous games to help her team come crushingly close to snatching the win.

However, the Waikato side had to settle for their thirteenth loss of the season.

Captain Sam Winders echoed the disappointment of her side, especially when so close to a win.

"That's our season thus far, we've struggled to get across that line at the end," Winders said.

Victory sees the Tactix hold second position on the table, though the Southern Steel and Northern Stars are close behind, both eager to snatch a spot in the elimination final on August 1.

The Steel and Stars meet in Auckland tomorrow night, where a Stars win would keep their playoff hopes alive.

A Steel win would knock the Stars out of playoff contention and elevate the Southern side to equal on points with the Tactix with one round of the regular season remaining.

The Tactix meet the first-placed Mystics next Sunday, and with a finals spot secured, the Mystics will be playing with nothing to lose against a Mainland team hoping to stage the elimination final in Christchurch as the second-placed team at the end of round 15.