Sam Winders notched up her 100th national league game for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic against the Pulse. Photo / Michael Bradley
Sam Winders notched up her 100th national league game for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic against the Pulse. Photo / Michael Bradley
It was supposed to be Sam Winders' celebratory match, but her Splice Construction Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic side went down in a tough 11 goal loss to the Central Pulse.
The captain became a centurion on Sunday night, notching up her 100th national league game for the Magic inWellington but couldn't top the occasion off with a win.
Her team struggled to stop the momentum of the Pulse, especially after half-time where the Pulse put their foot on the gas and won the half 33-24 to come away with the 64-53 win.
Winders put the second half lull down to a lack of focus on the players' individual roles, saying they needed to work on "finding that freedom to let the ball go and not worry about the distractions around us."
In a surprising move, coach Amigene Metcalfe gave Grace Kara the start at goal attack and left her on for the full 60 minutes. Traditionally a wing attack, Kara struggled with her accuracy, ending the game on 6/14.
Leaving Khiarna Williams and Chiara Semple on the bench all match, Magic fans were left wondering what could have been, with the former's athleticism and the latter's accuracy highly missed.
In a positive for the Magic, Australian international Caitlin Bassett stood up, playing her best game of the season, scoring 47 of the Magic's 53 goals and creating space for herself and Kara in the circle.
Only two attempts separated the teams at full time, yet the Pulse's shooting duo of Aliyah Dunn and Te Amo Amaru-Tibble were solid for their side, ending the game with 90 per cent accuracy and ensuring the Magic didn't come close enough to earn a bonus point.
Despite the margin, it was an unconvincing win for the Pulse, as both sides committed too many turnovers - something that teams will want to address heading towards the halfway mark of the competition.
Having only managed one win all season, the Magic remain at the bottom of the ANZ Premiership ladder, but Winders said that her side can take a positive from their results so far.
"We just need to go to the one or two things that we already are doing really well so it's actually quite easy when you're in our position to go look at the game, pull out the good stuff and keep doing that over and over."
