They dug deep and in the stand-out play of the game, captain and former Magic player Leana de Bruin intercepted a Magic pass with less than a minute to go that led to a goal at the other end.
The final victory margin of 58-45 was two short of the target for the Magic.
The tale of the season for the Magic was losing three successive games leading into Wednesday night's thriller in Tauranga after looking assured of a place in the finals.
But two young Tauranga fans were not worrying about that pre-game as they had the thrill of meeting both captains and having their photograph taken on court with them.
Lahkaia Reriti, 11, and Aylish Dunlop, 12, won the opportunity to meet the team captains and high-five each of the players as they were called on to centre court at the start of the match through the ANZ Future Captains competition.
Lahkaia attends Mount Maunganui Intermediate and has been playing for five years. She was nervous before the game but excited to meet her heroes and watch them play.
"It was really cool having my photo taken with the captains. My favourite part was seeing how good the players were at defending."
ANZ head of sponsorship Susan McGregor says they are passionate about supporting netball at every level, from the elite to the grassroots.
"That's why we're giving 94 children from around New Zealand the chance to meet their sporting heroes at each of the ANZ Premiership matches this season.
"We're very pleased we're able to offer this amazing opportunity to young Kiwis and hope that by offering them the chance to stand on centre court with their heroes it will help inspire them to achieve their dreams."