The Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic have suffered a heavy 65-50 defeat to the Southern Steel, their 10th consecutive loss of the 2021 ANZ Premiership.
The Magic travelled to Invercargill without the experience of former Silver Fern Grace Kara, while goal shoot Caitlin Bassett and goal keep Temalisi Fakahokotau were both on limited minutes due to injury.
Errors came early from the Magic, who were down seven goals at the first-quarter break, and repeated that margin in the second quarter.
Magic captain Sam Winders lamented her side's 27 turnovers, saying they "haven't quite mastered the art of treasuring possession no matter what it looks like and no matter what it takes".
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Advertise with NZME.The Magic were targeting Monday night's round-11 game as a chance to record their second win of the season, with the Steel's star goal shoot George Fisher missing the game after suffering a concussion in round 10.
Many thought the Steel would struggle without Fisher, who had put up 78 per cent of her side's goals this season; however, young shooter Tiana Metuarau stood up for the Steel at goal attack, finishing the game with 29/30 (97 per cent) and coming away with the MVP award.
Typically playing more of a supporting and feeding role, the 20-year-old's only miss came with just two minutes left in the game.
Grace Namana took the court at goal shoot for the southern side for all but five minutes and didn't miss a beat, a worthy replacement of English import Fisher.
After a poor showing in the first half, momentum shifted to the Magic in the latter half of the third quarter when Bassett and Khiarna Williams combined in the shooting circle.
The change in attack worked, as the Magic outscored the Steel 10-6 after the substitutions and won the quarter by one, but the much-improved second half couldn't dent the significant margin the Steel had built in front of their home crowd.
Goal difference will make a big difference in the 2021 season, as the Steel take third place on the ladder, three points ahead of the Tactix, who are yet to play their round-11 game due to Covid-19 restrictions in Wellington.
The two sides meet again in Hamilton on Monday, with the Magic going back to the drawing board yet again, sitting seven points behind the Pulse on the ladder who also have a game in hand.
