Pulse 63 Fever 61
They did it tough and they did it ugly, but the Central Pulse have recorded multiple netball wins for the first time in a season after scraping past the West Coast Fever in extra time last night.
The perennial league stragglers now have as many wins this season as they recorded in the opening three years of the transtasman league, with the Fever joining the Canterbury Tactix as the Pulse's scalps in 2011.
The home side started strongly in Porirua, surging to an early 14-8 lead, but the Fever answered with a roll of their own. This proved to be a pattern throughout the match, with the Pulse enjoying healthy leads at several stages, but never being able to maintain that intensity.
Pulse shooter Caitlin Thwaites had two opportunities to nail the win in regular time - the first was a shot under the posts with just over a minute and a half left, which would have given her side three-goal lead. The second was a mid-range penalty shot after regulation time had been called with the scores level at 48-all.
She missed, sending the Pulse to territory they know well - extra time.
However after enduring heartbreak in five extra time matches throughout their history, this time the Wellington-based side were finally able to win.
The Pulse's defensive trio of Bessie Manu, Katrina Grant and Daya Pritchard showed poise in the pressure-filled stages, forcing plenty of turnover ball from the visitors to ensure their side had the bulk of possession to grind out victory.
The Pulse made a cracking start to the match and found themselves in the unfamiliar position of leading 14-8 mid-way through the opening period. But a messy finish to the quarter saw that whittled back to just four goals at the break.
With her new-look midcourt combination of Johanna Curran at centre and Shae Bolton at wing attack failing to gel, Fever coach Jane Searle rung the changes for the second quarter.
Former Vixens shooter Ashley Howard was introduced at goal attack, with Leah Shoard, who put up just three shots in the first quarter, moving to the wing and Bolton shifting back to centre.
The changes had immediate effect, with the visitors displaying more fluidity on attack and creating good space for star shooter Caitlin Bassett.
By midway through the second spell the Fever had drawn level as the Pulse attack end began to stumble.
The Fever's 1.94m goal keep Susan Fuhrmann was causing all sorts of problems for the home side, her giant frame making both the midcourt hesitant with their feeds in to the circle and the shooters uncomfortable on the shot.
But the Fever lost a lot of impetus when the Australian defender was forced to the bench late in the second quarter with a knee injury. The Pulse made the most of the break and opened up a four-goal lead to take a 30-26 lead at halftime.
Fuhrmann reappeared after the long break, but initially her presence failed to unsettle the Pulse shooters as the home side opened the third quarter with a strong 5-2 run.
But the Fever stepped up their through-court pressure to slow down the Pulse's attacking momentum and responded with a run of their own to level the score at 39-all at three quarter time.
